cc: Magma list
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Chris Muller ma.chris.m@gmail.com Date: Fri, Dec 28, 2012 at 3:53 PM Subject: [squeak-dev] [ANN] Magma 1.4 To: squeak dev squeak-dev@lists.squeakfoundation.org
I am pleased to announce the release of Magma 1.4 for Squeak 4.4. Magma is a database for Squeak that allows complex domain models to be developed with virtually no regard for persistence issues. Said models can run entirely in memory without Magma even loaded in the image or, by loading Magma, the size of the domain model can exceed the size of RAM and be simultaneously accessed and updated by multiple clients over a network with ACID properties. Further, by copying the database files to another machine on same network and starting a server on them, uninterrupted 24x7 service is gained automatically -- either server can go down at any time and will be automatically sync'd from the other when restarted.
Magma regards data-integrity as a top priority. My oldest critical database still running today was "born" in 2004 and has survived major domain refactorings, 8 years of Magma upgrades, two hard-drive crashes and several power-outages. By hashing the contents of every commit, and writing them atomically to disk (among other security measures), Magma is an ultra-safe place to develop and store mission-critical objects. Correct mcz versions of domain code can be co-located in the same repository as the model it runs, ensuring full application recoverability even in the worst circumstances.
I've learned that transparent persistence is a complex problem that, IMO, only a mature framework can deliver in a mature way. Magma 1.4 brings heightened levels of stability, robustness and performance over its predecessor. Applications just run better, faster, with better memory management, usability and performance. The change-log has all of the gory details. This, combined with the recent release of Cog 2640, IMO, makes Squeak+Magma a fantastic platform.
PS - Even if you don't use Magma for persistence in your own applications, simply starting an empty database and copying all of your mcz's to it allows the Squeak IDE to show all "mc versions" and the "mc origin" of any method as options on the methods menu, very nice for general development.