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

[Davide Della Casa]

This is great!

Is there a revamped installation document as well?

The installation doc at
http://lively-kernel.org/repository/webwerkstatt/documentation/LivelyInstallation.xhtml
doesn't seam to "kick off" on my browser (engine keeps spinning).

I remember when I first did the local installation that was a bit of a pain
point...

Cheers,
Davide

On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 8:44 PM, Dan Ingalls <danhhingalls at gmail.com> wrote:

> **
> 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/visualization
> s/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
>
> 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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