Cheese thoughts

Mark Guzdial guzdial at cc.gatech.edu
Mon Mar 23 15:35:14 UTC 1998


>Given that Cheese is not only for "08-15" applications [1]
>we need some sort of graphics output device. I could think of using class
>Canvas as a base for these operations. It's already in the image and its
>functionality seems rather clear and well structured to me. Even more, by
>using Canvas as the base, we would immediately have the ability to run any
>morphic world in any OS window.
>
>Finally, I would love to see a pure emulation layer in Cheese which is
>entirely based on the current Squeak desktop approach. Since Squeak can be
>used on machines with virtually no OS there should also be some way of
>using Cheese on it. Because then, we could easily use an approach like
>"develop on your desktop machine - run it on any handheld device". And I
>would love to see Squeak/Cheese on any toaster in this universe ;-)
>
>Just some thoughts,
>  Andreas
>
>[1] "08-15" - the standard rifle of the germans in world war I.
>    Has become a general synonym for not doing anything besides
>    the main direction (or, with Alan's words, entirely pink stuff).

A vote in support of Andreas' comments!  While I, too, might enjoy the
option of native widgets in Squeak, I definitely want to retain the option
of the all-Squeak desktop.  It's important not just for running on a
toaster, but as an amazing learning/thinking tool.

This last quarter in my Sophomore Squeak-using class, the last assignment
was to build an object-oriented drawing editor WITHOUT WINDOWS -- just
blast everything directly to the Display and read the Sensor to determine
user input.  The idea was to get students to think at a different level
than looking for canvas/button/viewport/etc., and instead think of how
these pieces are implemented -- and how they might be improved. I was
really excited about the results -- from interesting styles of interactions
(e.g., rubber-banding polygons) and interesting visual looks (e.g., wide
range of buttons).

I really WANT my students to be able to think outside of "08-15" (nice
phrase, Andreas!), and Squeak is a great place to do it.  While being able
to build on all of the neat native stuff that's out there is a nice
advantage, let's not lose the wonderful benefits of going off in entirely
new directions.

Mark

--------------------------
Mark Guzdial : Georgia Tech : College of Computing : Atlanta, GA 30332-0280
(404) 894-5618 : Fax (404) 894-0673 : guzdial at cc.gatech.edu
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/people/Faculty/Mark.Guzdial.html





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