Bye, bye Jtalk... Hello Amber!

As some of you may know there is a new Smalltalk in town - and up until
today it was called Jtalk. After a furious three week development
period
after the ESUG 2011 conference (where Jtalk raised some eyebrows) we
are
now making a first release humbly numbered 0.9. We are also taking the
opportunity to pick a slicker name for Jtalk - Amber!

New website is at:

        http://www.amber-lang.net

So, why would you take a look at Amber?

In our opinion Amber is perfectly positioned for the HTML5 onslaught
and
the explosion of all-things-javascript like for example Nodejs. It is a
Smalltalk that plays well with others and can seamlessly use Javascript
libraries.

At the same time Amber feels like a *real* Smalltalk, the environment
is
all there including Workspace, Transcript, Browser,
senders/implementors/references to class, TestRunner, Inspectors, code
editing with syntax coloring and a Debugger. There is no image, but all
compilation is incremental.

Below follows a summary of the massive changes since ESUG that
triggered
us to make a first release.

We hope you join us in developing Amber and having fun! There is
already
work being made in using Amber on top of Java using Rhino, using Amber
for making games and lots more. Fork at github, join in #amber-lang on
freenode and hop onto the mailing list.

regards, Nicolas & Göran

(and thanks to Laurent, David, Bernat, Stefan, Raimon, Alexandre, Dale,
Juraj, Ken, Pavel and everyone else that have been involved)
---------------------------------------

Language, compiler and runtime

- New 100x faster parser built using PEGjs instead of the old parser
built using PetitParser.
- New much faster ChunkParser implementation in handwritten Amber
instead of using PetitParser.
- Improved parsing error report with quoted source code plus marker
pinpointing parsing error.
- Removed PetitParser since it is no longer needed by Amber itself.
- Added compiler optimizations in the form of speculative inlining of
specific messages and control structures.
- Added support for dynamic Arrays, just like in Squeak/Pharo.
- Added support for similar dynamic Dictionaries, not seen in other
Smalltalks.
- Added & and | as allowed binary selectors and implemented them in
Boolean.
- Added a Set implementation.
- Added basic support for Packages, dependency management coming soon.

...and various extensions, enhancements and bug fixes to the library
classes.


Development environment

- A working Debugger with integrated inspector, proceed etc.
- A structure with multiple different Amber environments in different
directories.
- A working amberc command line compiler including a Makefile for
recompiling the whole Amber.
- Enabled TestRunner in the IDE for running unit tests based on SUnit.
- Added "File in" button in Workspace to easily paste and filein source
code in chunk format in the IDE.
- Added "Rename package" and "Remove package" buttons to browser that
use the new Package model.
- Added a standalone webDAV server in Amber so that it is simpler to
get
up and running and able to commit code locally.


Example code and ports

- Ported ProfStef interactive tutorial, available on Amber homepage
(www.amber-lang.net/learn.html) but also in examples directory.
- Included the ESUG presentation as an example also in the examples
directory.
- Several new examples running on Node.js and webOS included, all with
Makefiles.


Various other things

- Issue tracker on github now used as primary source, closed a bunch of
reported issues.
- Wiki pages on github with information on how to port code from other
Smalltalks, lists of articles, tutorials, roadmap and more.

--
Nicolas Petton
http://www.nicolas-petton.fr

Nicolas Petton wrote

As some of you may know there is a new Smalltalk in town - and up until
today it was called Jtalk. After a furious three week development
period
after the ESUG 2011 conference (where Jtalk raised some eyebrows) we
are
now making a first release humbly numbered 0.9. We are also taking the
opportunity to pick a slicker name for Jtalk - Amber!

New website is at:

        http://www.amber-lang.net

So, why would you take a look at Amber?

In our opinion Amber is perfectly positioned for the HTML5 onslaught
and
the explosion of all-things-javascript like for example Nodejs. It is a
Smalltalk that plays well with others and can seamlessly use Javascript
libraries.

At the same time Amber feels like a *real* Smalltalk, the environment
is
all there including Workspace, Transcript, Browser,
senders/implementors/references to class, TestRunner, Inspectors, code
editing with syntax coloring and a Debugger. There is no image, but all
compilation is incremental.

Below follows a summary of the massive changes since ESUG that
triggered
us to make a first release.

We hope you join us in developing Amber and having fun! There is
already
work being made in using Amber on top of Java using Rhino, using Amber
for making games and lots more. Fork at github, join in #amber-lang on
freenode and hop onto the mailing list.

regards, Nicolas & Göran

(and thanks to Laurent, David, Bernat, Stefan, Raimon, Alexandre, Dale,
Juraj, Ken, Pavel and everyone else that have been involved)
---------------------------------------

Language, compiler and runtime

- New 100x faster parser built using PEGjs instead of the old parser
built using PetitParser.
- New much faster ChunkParser implementation in handwritten Amber
instead of using PetitParser.
- Improved parsing error report with quoted source code plus marker
pinpointing parsing error.
- Removed PetitParser since it is no longer needed by Amber itself.
- Added compiler optimizations in the form of speculative inlining of
specific messages and control structures.
- Added support for dynamic Arrays, just like in Squeak/Pharo.
- Added support for similar dynamic Dictionaries, not seen in other
Smalltalks.
- Added & and | as allowed binary selectors and implemented them in
Boolean.
- Added a Set implementation.
- Added basic support for Packages, dependency management coming soon.

...and various extensions, enhancements and bug fixes to the library
classes.


Development environment

- A working Debugger with integrated inspector, proceed etc.
- A structure with multiple different Amber environments in different
directories.
- A working amberc command line compiler including a Makefile for
recompiling the whole Amber.
- Enabled TestRunner in the IDE for running unit tests based on SUnit.
- Added "File in" button in Workspace to easily paste and filein source
code in chunk format in the IDE.
- Added "Rename package" and "Remove package" buttons to browser that
use the new Package model.
- Added a standalone webDAV server in Amber so that it is simpler to
get
up and running and able to commit code locally.


Example code and ports

- Ported ProfStef interactive tutorial, available on Amber homepage
(www.amber-lang.net/learn.html) but also in examples directory.
- Included the ESUG presentation as an example also in the examples
directory.
- Several new examples running on Node.js and webOS included, all with
Makefiles.


Various other things

- Issue tracker on github now used as primary source, closed a bunch of
reported issues.
- Wiki pages on github with information on how to port code from other
Smalltalks, lists of articles, tutorials, roadmap and more.

--
Nicolas Petton
http://www.nicolas-petton.fr

Hi Nicolas,

I wanted to ask something about Iliad and Amber. I have almost no JavaScript knowledge but follow the Amber news. I sometimes read that it might be used for server side stuff by using something called Node.js. Is it an encouraged usage or experimental? So is there a possibility that Amber may also be used in cases where Iliad is used? If yes, should a newcomer who want to start using Smalltalk on server side learn Iliad or Amber? A side question: what is the future of Iliad? :)

Hi Canol.
Good question!
Would be nice to know the 'official' position about Iliad too (future, next
releases, integration with Amber...).
I think Iliad (stills) desevers attention  :D

Cheers,
Thiago


--
View this message in context: http://forum.world.st/Bye-bye-Jtalk-Hello-Amber-tp3811392p3812927.html
Sent from the Iliad mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

On Wed, 2011-09-14 at 05:19 -0700, ZuLuuuuuu wrote:
Amber runs fine on top of nodejs. Now nodejs is a web server
implementation, not a web framework. Also, for now you won't have the
IDE available when running on node. So no, I wouldn't consider it as an
alternative for existing server-side web frameworks.

>  A side question: what
> is the future of Iliad? :)

I'll continue to maintain Iliad. Now there's a possibility that Iliad
will evolve and integrate Amber deeply. I don't know how or when. Future
will tell :)

Cheers,
Nico

--
Nicolas Petton
http://www.nicolas-petton.fr

Node is in fact more than a "web server" implementation. It is a full server side env. But yes, there is currently no IDE for that.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

---

On Sep 14, 2011 6:09 PM, Nicolas Petton <[hidden email]> wrote:
On Wed, 2011-09-14 at 05:19 -0700, ZuLuuuuuu wrote:
Amber runs fine on top of nodejs. Now nodejs is a web server
implementation, not a web framework. Also, for now you won't have the
IDE available when running on node. So no, I wouldn't consider it as an
alternative for existing server-side web frameworks.

> A side question: what
> is the future of Iliad? :)

I'll continue to maintain Iliad. Now there's a possibility that Iliad
will evolve and integrate Amber deeply. I don't know how or when. Future
will tell :)

Cheers,
Nico

--
Nicolas Petton
http://www.nicolas-petton.fr

Very interesting news, congrats Nico and Göran.

One more question to add to the Canol ones: For which type of
applications do you recommend invest time and effort in Amber and for
what other in Iliad? For which sort of applications is better each
product?

Thanks.
Germán.


2011/9/14  <[hidden email]>:

On Wed, 2011-09-14 at 18:22 -0300, Germán Arduino wrote:
> Very interesting news, congrats Nico and Göran.
>
> One more question to add to the Canol ones: For which type of
> applications do you recommend invest time and effort in Amber and for
> what other in Iliad? For which sort of applications is better each
> product?

Hi German,

It's very hard to answer to this question. Amber isn't a web framework
itself, but you can use it with server-side frameworks such as Iliad or
Seaside. So I don't think they really compete.

Nico

--
Nicolas Petton
http://www.nicolas-petton.fr

ok, I'm trying to figure out if may be useful for a new app I need to
develop.....



2011/9/14 Nicolas Petton <[hidden email]>:

On 09/14/2011 02:19 PM, ZuLuuuuuu wrote:
> Hi Nicolas,
>
> I wanted to ask something about Iliad and Amber. I have almost no JavaScript
> knowledge but follow the Amber news. I sometimes read that it might be used
> for server side stuff by using something called Node.js. Is it an encouraged
> usage or experimental?

NodeJS is just *one* (although possibly the most popular one right now)
environment/eco system for server side javascript. Read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nodejs
http://www.nodejs.org

Anyway, so Amber compiles to Javascript. And I wrote a bash script that
uses node to run the Amber parser and Compiler (written in Amber) in
order to compile regular chunkfiles into javascript. There are numerous
examples in the github clone showing this, including trivial Makefiles.

So... yes, you can very easily write server side apps in Amber, compile
them to js, then run them just like any js program - using for example node.

And NodeJS is *very* performant.

> So is there a possibility that Amber may also be used
> in cases where Iliad is used?

In the longer run Amber may become quite interesting on the server side
too, yes. But it has no "web framework" like Iliad. Yet. But hey, we can
port! :)

> If yes, should a newcomer who want to start
> using Smalltalk on server side learn Iliad or Amber? A side question: what
> is the future of Iliad? :)

Nicolas can answer that.

regards, Göran