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 <[email protected]> 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 > [email protected] > http://lists.hpi.uni-potsdam.de/listinfo/lively-kernel > >
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