On Thu, 31 Aug 2000, Karl Ramberg wrote:

> Hi, I made a plugin test on this page:
> 
> http://members01.chello.se/karl.ramberg/
> 
> It loads a 3D squeak logo (squeak.3ds) and spins it round so I guess
> Squeak3D is convenient.

Hey, that's cool! 

Some comments, though (this applies to everyone who wants to create
Squeaklets):

* You shouldn't use HTTPSocket to get stuff, but 
	(FileStream requestURLStream: 'squeak.3ds')
  which asks Netscape to fetch the file. You might also look at the 
  PluginCodeLoader and PluginHTTPRequest stuff.

* You might want to disable the programmer facilities in the plugin,
  like Cmd-., Halos, World menu etc. This can be achieved by changing some 
  preferences. Put this at the top of your sts-file:
	Preferences
	        disable: #cmdDotEnabled;
        	compileHardCodedPref: #cmdGesturesEnabled enable: false;
        	compileHardCodedPref: #cmdKeysInText enable: false;
        	enable: #noviceMode.
  There are ways to still get into the system (like when pressing
  Cmd-. before that file is loaded) but it prevents accidental surprises.
  Like, in your example it's not obvious how to get rid of the halo, and	
  rotating via the blue handle gives an error.

Otherwise, I think we now have the only platform-independend Smalltalk
plugin, don't we? 

Dolphin: Win32 only
	(http://www.object-arts.com/Plug-in/)
VisualWorks: Win32 only
	(http://www.cincom.com/visualworks/VWplugin.html)
VisualAge: nothing yet? #3 on the wish list in Oct 1999
	(http://www-4.ibm.com/software/ad/smalltalk/discussion/mkt1099.html)

-- Bert