Squeak-dev December 2006

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112 participants
144 discussions

TestBrowser enhancement
by Jason Rogers 01 Dec '06

01 Dec '06

I recently selected a failure in one of my test suites while using the TestBrowser. The context menu offers to browse the test in a system browser or the test browser. I selected the test browser and to my surprise a new test browser was opened instead of the one I was in. So, I patched the "offending" method: browseFullOnClass: testClass selector: selector browser: browserClass browserClass = self class ifTrue: [self setClass: (self lookupImplementorOfSelector: selector from: testClass) selector: selector] ifFalse: [browserClass fullOnClass: (self lookupImplementorOfSelector: selector from: testClass) selector: selector] I am not sure where the TestBrowser is being maintained - so I post it here. -- Jason Rogers "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." Proverbs 29:18

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Why I like to see Squeak namespaces on Swiki pages
by Klaus D. Witzel 01 Dec '06

01 Dec '06

Hi folks, I think that now can be the time for attacking the namespace thread from the opposite direction :) Let's assume now and here that syntax and semantics of the given proposal is adopted. Then we still face the implication of possible name clash (and of course, as always, lack of not-bytecoded documentation). Somewhere in the namespaces thread it was mentioned that root (?) names are maintained on a Wiki (in VW? anyone any hyperlink?). Now, because I very much like exposing the symbolic (all global names and their components' names in namespace) interface of Squeak to search engines, I suggest we make structured Swiki pages for Squeak namespaces, so that the next Squeak convert is able to find such manifests (from google, krugle, etc) and click the presented hyperlinks to arrive at the respective project (download) page. I hereby volunteer to create and maintain Squeak's namespaces Swiki pages. I do so because at around 3.6 I rediscovered Squeak and was really disappointed when I didn't find any class names and system category names organized and served for www consumption. I do not anticipate much work for me, because nothing much namespaceable exists today in Squeak. And if system categories where decided to be part of the then official namespaces, then a very small number of statements in a workspace will just kick them in. Since it cannot be expected that everybody rewrites her/his source code just because it can now reference namespaces, the amount of organizational work can be kept almost invisible small during an initial phase, IMO. I cannot and do not intend to deal with tool support, perhaps someone else can join in and add namespaces support to tools (to some minimal extend). After some time and some use in practice, Squeak's namespaces Swiki pages can be reviewed by the community and further directions can be addressed (if such can be found by that time and namespaces then still are relevant). BTW: I hereby promise to not touch the #:: naming and the #:: implementation of the then official Squeak namespaces solution; will do so only locally in my own image ;-) /Klaus

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instance side
by Julian Daly 01 Dec '06

01 Dec '06

Hello all, Could some one explain what "instance side" means? And please keep this as basic as you can, thanks, Julian

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[0.987*OT] The Problem With Programming
by Klaus D. Witzel 01 Dec '06

01 Dec '06

quote "Bjarne Stroustrup, who invented C++, explains in this interview that he still stands by the language he built, and thinks that most programming being done now is below par. While there is quality software out there, like Google, he says, "looking at the 'average' piece of code can make me cry. The structure is appalling, and the programmers clearly didn't think deeply about correctness, algorithms, data structures, or maintainability." Rather than being sure of a system's quality and why it works so well, Stroustrup says programmers are "in a constant state of grasping at straws to get our work done. The snag is we often do not know how we did it: a system just 'sort of evolved' into something minimally acceptable." In order to remedy this situation, he thinks that education must be improved, using "more-appropriate design methods, and design for flexibility and for the long haul." However, this fix is difficult to achieve because computer users do not want to be inconvenienced by abrupt changes; only a gradual, wide-ranging effort toward change will be effective. "Software developers have neutralized the astounding performance of modern computer hardware by adding layer upon layer of over-elaborate [software] abstractions," says Stroustrup, whose solution is that more experts should be trained to use C++, as it as fallen out of the mainstream, rather than simply "dumb[ing] down" programming languages. He says the generality built into C++ was the result of his "view that to do higher-level stuff, to build complete applications, you first needed to buy, build, or borrow libraries providing appropriate abstractions." Stroustrup believes that "======>" the large amount of criticism that has been aimed at C++ is a testament to how useful it really is "<======"." unquote. Bjarne Stroustrup, the inventor of the C++ programming language, defends his legacy and examines what's wrong with most software code [here:] - http://www.techreview.com/InfoTech/17831/ /Klaus

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