I have been working to externalize all of the scripts of the
"Extending the System" workspace into the SqueakMap Catalog.  Once
that is done, the whole Extending the System workspace will be
obsolete, and I will remove it.

There is this elegant object model which has been built-up by the
Squeak community over the last decade or so.  It's a great record of
all the major software ever written for Squeak and the contributors
who did it.  It is also uniquely positioned to address a cluster of
issues that face the Squeak and Pharo communities; most notably,
technological-divergence.

It's now extremely easy to put releases on SqueakMap.  In a Squeak
trunk image, just select the new menu option on SqueakMap packages;
either "Create new Release" or "Edit release".  A new type of browser
opens where the load-script for that package can be edited and saved
directly to SqueakMap.

It's helpful to remember that SqueakMap is just a catalog; e.g.,
"documentation" about what software packages are available for Squeak
and Pharo, which image versions they run on, (including which Pharo
versions), what the license is, who the main developers are, and how
much it extends or modifies the image that it runs on.  Now, the
fields can include the load-script appropriate for the designated
Squeak or Pharo version.

I have already added the releases for Squeak 4.2 for the packages I
own on SqueakMap.  I now ask those in the community who have
contributed their load-scripts to the "Extending the System" workspace
to please cut and paste your load-script into the new SM Release
Browser and click "Save".  It can be done, literally, in under 60
seconds if we will just Do It.  All of those releases will then appear
in the Catalog of the just-released 4.2 image.  Right now we have only
a half-dozen or so packages that appear in the 4.2 list.  It would be
great to see FFI, muO, OCompletion, Omnibrowser, OSProcess, Seaside,
Pier and Cobalt in there as well.

There is actually a bit more to tell (!!) but I'm trying to keep this
short and simple so we can can at least get the ball rolling
externalizing the scripts that we do have.  But these new enhancements
also address issues about Community-Supported packages.  Please feel
free to ask questions!

 - Chris

On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 2:37 PM, Ken G. Brown <kbrown at mac.com> wrote:
> In Sq 4.2 in the 'How to extend the system' Workspace, it has:
>
> "Note: Please edit this workspace and add your own contributions.
> To submit it to the inbox open the Monticello browser and submit it from there.
> Save the package '* Morphic' to the inbox."
>
> Wouldn't it make more sense to have it located in something like Help-Squeak-ExtendingTheSystem similar to Help-Squeak-TerseGuide?
> Then it would be simple to update.
>
> I have a couple things I could add to 'How to extend the system' but hesitate to do so in case I did something else by accident to Morphic and would pollute it.
>
> Ken G. Brown
>
>