[ANN] BabySRE (Squeak Reverse Engineering) posted on SqueakMap

Trygve Reenskaug trygver at ifi.uio.no
Sun Dec 19 14:03:46 UTC 2004


SRE (Squeak Reverse Engineering) is new set of three tools making Squeak 
objects visible and tangible:

1) *SRE collaboration* for building a diagram a system of objects with the 
links between them.

2) *SRE Object Browser* to get a full description of a single object with 
its identity, state, and behavior.
       The class hierarchy is flattened so that you see the object as a whole.

3) *Object>>traceRM:* a method that dumps the stack in the Transcript.

Taken together, these three tools are meant to get their user in closer 
contact with the real objects. The tools shall give better understanding of 
existing systems and better contol over new ones.

I have written a technical note using these tools to answer the question 
"What is a Morph?". It is posted at
     http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~trygver/2004/babysre/BabySRE.pdf

But seeing it on paper is one thing, working with the live objects is 
another. I encourage you to install BabySRE from SqueakMap:
1) Start from Squeak3.7-5989-basic. (Any other release might do, I haven't 
tried it)
2) Install Connectors version 1.9. (2.0 didn't work for me).
       I got an error while loading. It does not seem to matter.
3) Load and open Monticello.
4) Open SqueakMap Package Loader. Select and install BabySRE-TRee11.

I am particularly concerned to learn if the SRE approach is at odds with 
the visions of the SCG people in Berne. I hope not.

I see from this mailing list that there are many contributors who teach 
Squeak programming. It would be very interesting if some of you could test 
how students take to the SRE way of describing object systems.

BabySRE is part of the BabyUML project. I hope to use a complete rewrite of 
the SRE tools as parts of a higher level programming language IDE.

I hope you will try the SRE tools, but don't expect me to maintain them in 
their present form. All feedback will be welcome. I must admit: positive 
feedback will be more than welcome.

Have fun
--Trygve

-- 

Trygve Reenskaug      mailto: trygver <at> ifi.uio.no
Morgedalsvn. 5A       http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~trygver
N-0378 Oslo           Tel: (+47) 22 49 57 27
Norway





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