[lively-kernel] New Release coming - Alpha testers welcome

[bb]

Have you ever tried to look for lively via internet? There arises a
problem, because one only gets hits for Google Lively. Google Lively
once was a web-based virtual environmen. Google Lively was discontinued
2008, but still it will shadow lively. One might look for lively-kernel,
but then you need to know about the project - otherwise one does not
have a chance to find it.

I do not have an idea how to overcome the problem.

Regards

B. Blochl


Am 11.07.2011 21:44, schrieb Dan Ingalls:
> Folks -
>
> Last fall we made the decision to refactor the graphics kernel,
> rewrite our serialization scheme, and make things better for end-users
> as well.  In the process, we took our communications pretty much off
> line so, to look at the mail list, one might assume we just stopped
> working.  Nothing could be farther from the truth, as you will see
> from this summary of features in the upcoming release of Lively Kernel
> 2.0...
>
>
> *New Rendering Architecture*
> We have refactored the rendering architecture so that it can equally
> easily support not only SVG and Canvas, but also standard HTML and
> CSS.  There were several reasons:  improved graphic performance,
> easier incorporation of existing web content, and the flexibility to
> interoperate with other widget sets, visualization software and the
> like.  By separating the rendering state from the morphic state, it
> also allowed us to serialize objects in a rendering-independent
> manner.  The importance of this will emerge when we talk about Parts
> Bins.  Here is an examples enabled by the new architecture
>    
> http://lively-kernel.org/repository/webwerkstatt/demos/visualizations/FPSProtovis.xhtml
> <http://lively-kernel.org/repository/webwerkstatt/demos/visualizations/FPSProtovis.xhtml>
>
>
> *Native Widgets*
> One advantage of the new system is access to native widgets in the
> browser, most notably text frames that can edit multi-megabyte
> string.  We also look forward to such native support in mobile devices
> where there are high expectations of both appearance and performance.
>
> *New Serialization*
> We have rewritten the entire serialization module in LK2 removing its
> dependence on the browser DOM. Serialization now uses JSON
> exclusively, and it now handles all morphic structure, including
> non-rooted morphs and arbitrary JavaScript objects.
>
> *Parts Bins*
> We have made a step in ease-of-use for many simple creations. 
> Beginning with the Lively Fabrik project, we had gained experience
> with a simple drag-and-drop palette of components.  It became obvious
> that this is a generally more convenient and more concrete access to a
> lively library than menu commands, plus it offers the potential of
> storing as well, and is thus a true user repository.  Around the same
> time, we were experimenting with Node.JS, and this, together with a
> general desire to slim down our kernel, suggested that our parts bin
> should be cloud-resident (and thus sharable), replicable, and
> generally scalable as well.
>
> We soon discovered that storing objects in this manner was more
> convenient than saving code and files.  Originally used only for
> simple shapes, we now store all sorts of active content from widgets
> to full-blown applications, styles such as fancy borders, behaviors
> such as throbbing, spinning, etc, and services such as map views and
> language translation.
>
> *Iconic Connect*
> In addition to drag-and-drop access from the parts bins, it is
> necessary to be able to connect objects together in a live way.  For
> this we have developed a dataflow connection similar to the bind
> operation found in many GUI frameworks.  Connections can be made
> simply by drawing out a line from one component to another and
> selecting from a menu which property of the source should be connected
> to which property of the target.
>
> *Script Browser*
> With the move to a less class-oriented style of development, we have
> developed a simplified browser that also offers control scripts and
> connect functions.  The script browser itself is built in this manner,
> and is something much more accessible to casual understanding than our
> more heavyweight programming tools.
>
> *Live Web*
> The change to direct scripting of objects and iconic storage in the
> cloud is a true paradigm shift for the Lively Kernel.  The experience
> is one of living in a vast and shared cloud of active content that is
> easy to grab and play with, and equally easy to publish back to.
>
> *Lively Archives*
> A wonderful side-effect of the new serialization is the ability to
> create a full-system archive of any Lively Kernel world.  A lively
> archive is a web page that includes the entire code base, and that can
> thus be run without access to the Internet.  It can be stored as a
> clickable app on one's desktop and, being self-contained, it should
> remain a stable artifact for years to come.
>
>
> *Personal Lively*
> Using the lively archive technology it is now possible to store Lively
> Kernel worlds to your Dropbox account, thus letting you keep them and
> share them as long as you want.  We plan to extend this facility to
> parts bins as well, so that you can build and share your own personal
> gallery of weird and wonderful lively content.
>
> *The punch list for Lively Kernel 2.0*
> We are now operating at maximum warp to assemble a stable release so
> that people can play with it and we can take this environment to the
> next level of creative productivity.  We are intentionally refraining
> from perfection in favor of early release, knowing that we will want
> to change it the minute we are done.
> Here are the major stepping stones remaining to get us to 2.0:
>                 Archive the old version with many demos
>
>         Check operation in all major browsers
>                 Code cleanup of the new version - remove deprecated
> code, etc
>                 Address a few usability issues
>                 Basic documentation and web site organization
>                 Anticipation of future extensions such as canvas
> rendering and touch support
>
> *Stability*
> In addition to our normal practice of making the up-to-the-minute
> alphas accessible, with 2.0 we plan to begin a practice of providing
> links to a reasonably documented stable release as well as the
> up-to-the-minute development version.
>
> *Check out the alpha pages*
> To get a sneak peak at Lively 2.0 visit
>            
> http://lively-kernel.org/repository/webwerkstatt/webwerkstatt.xhtml
> <http://lively-kernel.org/repository/webwerkstatt/webwerkstatt.xhtml>
>
> A FAQ has been started at
>        
> http://lively-kernel.org/repository/webwerkstatt/documentation/FAQ.xhtml
> <http://lively-kernel.org/repository/webwerkstatt/documentation/FAQ.xhtml>
>
> Please note:
> You can help to make the 2.0 release a success by testing these pages,
> and any other features you discover.  Please send us your comments and
> suggestions.
>
> Also note:
> At this writing, LK2 runs best on recent releases of Safari, Webkit
> and Chrome.  It is our intention also to support IE (9+), Firefox and
> Opera.  Help us to test these and send us your comments.
>
> *
> *
> *Lively up your web!*
>         Dan Ingalls (as scribe) - SAP Research, Pal Alto
>         Robert Krahn - Hasso Plattner Institute, Potsdam
>         Jens Lincke  - Hasso Plattner Institute, Potsdam
>         Marko Roeder -  Hasso Plattner Institute, interning at SAP
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> lively-kernel mailing list
> lively-kernel at hpi.uni-potsdam.de
> http://lists.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/listinfo/lively-kernel
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