[sword-devel] Re: Squeak

[sword-devel@crosswire.org]

> I am not a developer/programmer but am in the process of learning 
> Squeak. Squeak is an open source Smalltalk system. It is very cross 
> platform. I personally have run it from my wife's Power Mac 604e 200mhz, 
> my children's iMac (rev. B), my Linux machine, a Win95 PII 266 machine 
> at work, and now a WinXP 2ghz Athlon at work. It runs bit identical on 
> something like over 30 machines. Some people use it on their PDAs, like 
> iPaq, Zaurus.

Have you considered other alternatives to Squeak? Consider also Python 
(www.python.org), however I'm not sure whether Python has a portable GUI among 
wxPython (but we have at least portable wxPython, which is a portable GUI). I 
don't know how about Squeak, but you need a programming language which is easy 
to learn not only by you but also by users, while Python is one of the most 
easy-to-learn yet powerful languages. It is object oriented.

Also you will need to know C++, one of the most hard to learn languages :-( in 
order to decipher Sword module formats from Sword sources. Sadly there are no 
document describing such the formats.

> When a Bible system is written in Squeak it will instantly run on all 
> the above platforms and easily portable to future platforms. It handles 
> all its own graphics and events. This means it isn't a native GUI.

wxWindows (including wxPython) apps look different on different platforms 
however can be coded the same. wxWindows is not as powerful as best native GUI 
but rather powerful.

> The look and feel is completely at the control of the developer. Its not 
>   limited to the native UI. It is multimedia. Does MP3, Ogg (or will 
> soon), MPEGs, JPEGs, MIDI. A 3D OS is being written in it right now.

Will you draw changed Bible pages in animated multimedia? :-)

> For example. If a Sword frontend was developed in it, and I wanted to 
> add a feature, say search for Strongs numbers. (If I remember correctly 
> you used to not be able to in Windows and still can't in GnomeSword.)

In GnomeSword we can do it just first showing strongs in the module, and then 
searching a number.

> A developer could open up a code browser, add the method, save the 
> method, and then begin using it immediately. He could then share this 
> new feature via a ChangeSet and email it to the list and it would be 
> available to everyone.

The same is possible with Python.

> If anyone is interested in talking about a Sword frontend in Squeak 
> email me. We can have a private conversation or on this list if it is 
> deemed sufficiently on topic.

Almost anything about Sword modules is on-topic here.
-- 
Victor Porton (porton@ex-code.com)