Dan Ingalls wrote:
>... Fabrik's model is quite different from Squeak:  multi-directional dataflow vs objects and messages.  It's a great model for hooking up existing widgets and computing elements, but it is probably not the best model for building new functionality from scratch.  This is also the case for a number of other useful metaphors that can be embedded in Squeak such as logic programming or constraints.
>
>I will update the Swiki page in the next couple of days with some Fabrik history and a comparison to PARTS and other similar systems.

I've always wondered if there is some relationship between Smalltalk/Fabrik and 
the LabVIEW programming environment from National Instruments.

If you have not seen it, in LabVIEW you create programs by dragging modules
off of a palette and wiring them together. The modules are hierarchical so that
you can zoom into one and edit the wires and modules that it is made up of.
Each modules has a separate user interface window (to appease the "no wires"
group, I guess). There are other Smalltalk-like things in LabVIEW (it has a VM and 
seems to be image based), but I've never heard any mention of Smalltalk from NI.  

My experience with LabVIEW is that it seems like a great idea, but in practice
it is difficult to write significant programs with it. However, I think a lot of those 
problems would go away with bi-directional data flow (LabVIEW is one way only)
and having access to a great underlying language (LabVIEW doesn't let you get
down to the Smalltalk level, if there is one).

Ted

Ted Wright
NASA business: mailto:wright at grc.nasa.gov    remainder: mailto:wright at en.com