IDE to write IWBasic like SmallTalk

[Pewing]

Hi Folk's I have written an IDE application that allows a person to write IWbasic programs just like you do in SmallTalk. I call it IWBuddy. You write code into an image and then compile the image. After that the IW Basic program would look like this:
$MAIN
AUTODEFINE "off"
$INCLUDE "#ClassLib.inc"
'**** begin program *********

   DEF Pgm as EB2XCP
   Pgm.Start(&main)
   WAITUNTIL Pgm.Finish()
END
SUB main()
   Pgm.Ctl(null)
ENDSUB

The IDE handles all the DECLARE's and INCLUDES and the rest of the overhead required to compile programs in IWBasic. The reason for this post is to see if there is an intrest from people to give it a try. I would be happy to share it with the comunity on IonicWind and it would also motivate me to put a more concerted effert in  cleaning up the loose ends. 
   Is this a finished product?, oh far from it, I have a long way to go before I get all the bells and whistles in. However even in its primitive state I can write Gui Apps faster than I can in any thing else, including SmallTalk.

I'm trying to upload a screen shot so you can get an Idea of what I'm talking about, but I am not having much luck here.
-- PEwing

[LarryMc]

I can't say if there would be any interest or not.
I, for one, would have absolutely no use for it.
I never had anything to do with SmallTalk; had previously never like OOP type languages(although I have used OOP to my advantage with/in IWBasic) and am too old to learn another programming syntax to do things that I can do just fine with IWBasic as it is.

Wish I could be more encouraging.

[GWS]

I'm sure Oop'y stuff has been the making of many a career - they probably used it in the massive National Health IT programs, so they could treat all us sick people as objects.

Needless to say, after millions of pounds spent, it hasn't worked yet.

In my view, Oop is a health hazard ..  .. and Smalltalk is definitely Oop'y.

Smalltalk provides computational reflection, the ability to observe the computational state of the system. In languages derived from the original Smalltalk-80 the current activation of a method is accessible as an object named via a pseudo-variable, thisContext. By sending messages to thisContext a method activation can ask questions like "who sent this message to me". These facilities make it possible to implement co-routines or Prolog-like back-tracking without modifying the virtual machine.

'Er, Im sure that's impressive ..

An important use of doesNotUnderstand: is intercession. One can create a class that does not define any methods other than doesNotUnderstand: and does not inherit from any other class. The instances of this class effectively understand no messages. So every time a message is sent to these instances they actually get sent doesNotUnderstand:, hence they intercede in the message sending process. Such objects are called proxies. By implementing doesNotUnderstand: appropriately, one can create distributed systems where proxies forward messages across a network to other Smalltalk systems

Phew ..

Pewing, you're very brave tackling this - you could make your brain go funny - but I think I'll stick to pretty graphics programs.

Best wishes,

Graham

[Bruce Peaslee]

Well, I'd like to see it. 

[srvaldez]

sound intriguing, I would like to have a look.

[aurelCB]

where is this IDE anyway....
there is no any executable here to try in attachment...
it looks to me just like...I HAVE A IDEA ...right?
so this would be some sort of translator?

[Pewing]

lets not too excited here, what I have written is an editor environment that has 4 panes. the upper left pane is a Class Browser. That shows your classes in a hierarchal tree view format. The lower left pane is a method browser showing the method's that are assign to a selected class. The upper right pane shows the class definition code. You can edit, make changes and save the code. and the lower right pane allows you to write methods for the class, make changes and save them.    you can also do basic stuff like rename a class, rename a method, and change a method class to a different class. The editor then handles all the DECLARES, INCLUDES and class library management necessary to compile a program.  On the IWBasic side you still need to start a project and include the program template as shown in the previous post. you then use IWBasic to compile the program. 
I am not talking about a commercial product here. it is hand written, home grown by me.  A tool that allows me to write OO code using IWbasic but in a SmallTalk like style. I am still working on it, you know how it is, every time you think you get a project done.  You then get a wild idea, take it all apart and start all over again. Well thats the way it is here, i'm on my third rewrite of this application and I have more work to do on the current version.
In the mean time I thought about sharing my creation with others in the IWbasic community and was curious if others would be interested in using it. I thought if I got a positive response I would work a little over time and get it cleaned up for public use. The whole package contains the Object Library or Image, the application and, documentation on how to use it. including naming standards and conventions and principles of coding in the Object library.
When the program is not broken it is really quite useful.  I have written scheduling packages, flow chart programs and JCL analyzers using my little program  and under tight project deadlines.

As far as the National Health Care IT program goes. I figure there are 400 million objects involved and one object has my name on it.  And it is probably that object that is causing the whole thing not to work. Kinda makes a person feel special in a certain way.

[aurelCB]

Like Graham says ...SmallTalk is OOP...
of course if you whish to do this just do it...personally i prefer procedural way of programming
because i think that OOP is to abstract for me and is only good if you have a team which work
on one project.
I don't use IWB(EB) very much then one another compiler which have OOP very simply constructed.
And i really don't know how much people here need such a thing..

[GWS]

As far as the National Health Care IT program goes. I figure there are 400 million objects involved and one object has my name on it.  And it is probably that object that is causing the whole thing not to work. Kinda makes a person feel special in a certain way.

I have written scheduling packages, flow chart programs and JCL analyzers using my little program  and under tight project deadlines.

.. that's impressive.

JCL - that reminds me of my IBM 370 days .. 

Personal computers couldn't come soon enough for me.

All the best,

Graham

[aurelCB]

Is this project dead ?

[LarryMc]

Is this project dead ?

I'd say it's dead.  He hasn't logged in to the forums since about 2 weeks after his last post above.

[aurelCB]

Hi Larry ...
I just ask ...something like ...
breaking the silence ...


all best
Aurel