Beginners January 2015

beginners@lists.squeakfoundation.org

15 participants
12 discussions

Feedback: Using Output as the Next Input
by Dan 03 May '15

03 May '15

Howdy, A class is instantiated and produces output in a data structure (array, collection, dictionary, ...). Upon each later (maybe months later) instantiation, the previous output is needed as input. What is the best way to do this for modest (not huge) output? Some possibilities: Externally - file out and file in Within the class - compile class methods containing the output; save with Montecello I'm interested in how to dynamically compile a class method. Can Browser be invoked dynamically? In studying Browser and friends, it looks complicated. Am I missing something or attempting something foolish or ...? - Dan

6 10

Re: [Newbies] Feedback: Using Output as the Next Input
by Dan 01 May '15

01 May '15

On 5 Dec 2014 at 1:13, Bert Freudenberg wrote: > > > On 05.12.2014, at 00:49, Dan <dnorton(a)mindspring.com> wrote: > > > > On 4 Dec 2014 at 23:22, Bert Freudenberg wrote: > > > >> > >>> On 04.12.2014, at 23:14, Dan <dnorton(a)mindspring.com> wrote: > >>> > >>> Howdy, > >>> > >>> A class is instantiated and produces output in a data > structure > >> (array, collection, dictionary, > >>> ...). Upon each later (maybe months later) instantiation, the > >> previous output is needed as > >>> input. What is the best way to do this for modest (not huge) > >> output? Some possibilities: > >>> Externally - file out and file in > >>> Within the class - compile class methods containing the > output; > >> save with Montecello > >>> > >>> I'm interested in how to dynamically compile a class method. > Can > >> Browser be invoked > >>> dynamically? In studying Browser and friends, it looks > >> complicated. Am I missing something > >>> or attempting something foolish or ...? > >> > >> Why wouldn't you just keep the "output" in the image and save > it? > >> When you restart it months later, it will be there. > >> > >> - Bert - > >> > > That surely is simpler than trying to compile a method. > > Not that compiling a method is hard. > That is encouraging. Is it something similar to "Dynamic Message Calling" described in the Terse Guide to Squeak? > > I might put something like this in a package. > > I'm not sure what you mean by that. > I mean a package on SqueakMap where one can download it and try it out. I see there are over 700 packages out there for the choosing. A great variety. It's unfortunate that not all run on the current release of Squeak but maybe with a little work... ;) > > Would users find saving the image as... to be the expected way of > doing things? > > > > - Dan > > Depends on who your users are. If you were the user ... you're > saving your image all the time, right? > Um, not exactly. But more often than in the past. I feel most comfortable saving with Montecello. > Maybe you should be more specific in what data you want to store, > how you want to distribute it, and who is going to use it. > I have in mind a list of names which are matched randomly in pairs then filtered according to a set of rules. The output is a dictionary and the rules specify that no pair can be the same as previous (up to 3) instances. There are other rules and often hundreds of iterations take place before all pairs obey all the rules. It might be used, as it is in our family, to draw names for Christmas. The person who runs the program distributes the results to those on the list. - Dan

3 2

FileDirectory exists: returns false for GPIO RasPi
by Herbert König 29 Jan '15

29 Jan '15

Hi, I'm trying to use the GPIO on the Raspberry Pi. After I export a GPIO before setting its direction I need to wait until all Folders and files of the GPIO pin are created. I try this with: FileDirectory default fileExists '/fullPathToTheGpio/direction' This never returns true. Any hint on how to find out when I can start writing to the file? I I just wait 3 seconds before writing to the pin for the first time it works. Subsequent writes work instantly. Thanks, Herbert

1 1

Beginner's List Question
by Kirk Fraser 28 Jan '15

28 Jan '15

I finally found the responses to my email that never arrived in my inbox yet by looking in the Archive. Thanks. Apparently my question needs to be restated in better jargon. So here goes: A beginner might want to start Squeak on a Linux machine. The Beginner's heading has no information for a beginner using Linux. Yet the claim is Squeak works on both Windows and Linux. So how does a beginner do it? Casey says take a flying leap and eventually you'll get it. Bert says there are easy to follow instructions to do it. Where are these easy to follow instructions for beginners? Kirk W. Fraser w <http://freetom.info/TrueChurch>ww.JesusGospelChurch.com - Replace the fraud churches with the true church. http://freetom.info - Example of False Justice common in America

8 10

Read RasPi GPIO
by Herbert König 28 Jan '15

28 Jan '15

Hi, I can successfully read a GPIO Pin on the RasPi if I do it like: |value| dataFile ensureOpen. value := dataFile upToEnd. dataFile close. ^value dataFile is the /sys/class/gpio/gpioxx/value file that exists after exporting gpioxx. Without the reopening and closing of the file I get '' on subsequent reads which means that StandartFileStream>>basicNext answers nil. Is there a way to get the values without having to close and reopen the file each time? Thanks Herbert

3 3

Thanks
by Kirk Fraser 25 Jan '15

25 Jan '15

Thank you Tim and Michael for actual help. After downloading and extracting the .Squeak All-In-One zip file squeak.sh started Squeak! For improving the Squeak.Downloads page, Beginners Download the Squeak All-In-One. Unzip and double click. Works on any operating system: Windows double click Squeak.exe Linux double click squeak.sh or see Terminal help (link to Michael's instructions). MacIntosh double click {whatever goes here} Once inside Squeak there should be at least enough beginner's help to get a "Hello World" window open and code saved by FileOut. Preferably more help for beginners. There should be help explaining what a project is relative to a fileOut and the Load Project window should have hover help or in some other way explain what the arcane project names mean. BTW, if there is some Smalltalk standards organization, FileOut and FileIn should be standardized so code from Squeak at least files in to other Smalltalks and back. Now for anti-Rant: Linux is more popular than MacIntosh and growing user friendliness of some "distros" puts whatever burden there is for Windows and Mac onto Squeak developers for Linux. Squeak is slowly improving but it is still not beginner friendly. I spent a large chunk of my poverty income to hire a programmer in India who could not learn Smalltalk in a month enough to accomplish useful work. And for people who think graphical programming languages (GPL) like Scratch or Etoys is better than Smalltalk properly explained to beginners including children should look at the size and quality of code libraries written in Smalltalk compared to those written in GPL for a clue and if that isn't enough, consider why is Egyptian Hieroglyphs a dead language? Kirk W. Fraser w <http://freetom.info/TrueChurch>ww.JesusGospelChurch.com - Replace the fraud churches with the true church. http://freetom.info - Example of False Justice common in America

1 0

material design for squeak!
by Mayuresh Kathe 25 Jan '15

25 Jan '15

considering the *great* graphics and animation support available under squeak, would it be difficult to mould the squeak 'ui' to adhere to material design guidelines [1] from google? 1. http://www.google.com/design/spec/material-design/introduction.html ~mayuresh

2 2

Starting Squeak On Kbuntu
by Kirk Fraser 25 Jan '15

25 Jan '15

I think I've figure out (finally) what the list message accumulator does. It isn't set to send whatever accumulates in a day but only when about 4 messages or so accumulate, then it broadcasts even if it takes weeks for that to happen. Also if it happens in a single day then multiple groups of emails are sent. So I'm sending this to push the stack and see if there is a reply waiting. So ignore this message. Kirk W. Fraser w <http://freetom.info/TrueChurch>ww.JesusGospelChurch.com - Replace the fraud churches with the true church. http://freetom.info - Example of False Justice common in America

1 0

SUSCRIBE
by Alberto Nava Hernandez 23 Jan '15

23 Jan '15

anavaher(a)spsu.edu

1 0

Better Support for Beginners Please!
by Kirk Fraser 22 Jan '15

22 Jan '15

The Squeak.org main page needs a few changes. 1) FunSqueak Demo Image does not belong under "Beginner" heading. Perhaps "Intermediate" would be more appropriate. To be a Beginner project it should be supplied installed in a full one click Squeak 4.5 instead of expecting a beginner to know how to do major surgery. 2) The LINUX instructions at page bottom are not for beginners. Under Beginners there should be a one click solution for installing Squeak in a majority of Linux systems including Kbuntu. Lacking that, the Beginners heading needs detailed explanation of what all this means and how to accomplish it. Linux Starting - Check you have: 1) X Windows (i.e. X11) installed; 2) 32-bit libraries installed; 3) file permissions have been addressed. Put the squeak script found in the top directory on the command line followed by the path to the image. How does one check if one has X Windows installed? How does one check if one has 32 bit libraries installed? How does one check if one has file permissions "addressed"? What is the Squeak Script? How does one put it in the "top" directory - top of what - the hard disk, some major subdirectory like bin? Where does one enter the command line? What does a sample command line look like in the top 5 Linux variants? Better yet, where is a one click download and install for Linux systems? A bit of humor - while writing this post, I thought of a new term to describe this problem, the main Squeak.org page is dribbling information to the users. What do you think, fix dribbling and you'll attract more users?

3 3

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

Beginners January 2015