Hi folks!

Andreas Raab wrote:
[SNIP]
> Compare this with a simple alternative (I'm not using XML because of the 
> knee-jerk reaction to XML in this community):
> 
> [Disclaimer: Please folks, don't come back and give this "oh but it 
> doesn't do x,y,z" response that I can see coming at me. This is NOT an 
> actual package spec, this is an example for what a simple package spec 
> *might look like*]
> 
> Package: HelpSystem-Core
> Version: 1.0
> Repository: http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem
> Installs: HelpSystem-Core-tbn.1.mcz
> Installs: HelpSystem-Tests-tbn.1.mcz
> 
> Package: HelpSystem
> Version: 1.0
> IntendedPlatform: Squeak
> IntendedVersion: 3.10
> Requires: HelpSystem-Core
> Repository: http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem
> Installs: Squeak-Project-Help.1.mcz
> 
> Package: HelpSystem
> Version: 1.0
> IntendedPlatform: Pharo
> IntendedVersion: 1.0
> Requires: HelpSystem-Core
> Repository: http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem
> Installs: Pharo-Project-Help.1.mcz
> 
> Package: HelpSystem
> Version: 1.1
> IntendedPlatform: Squeak
> IntendedVersion: 4.0
> Requires: HelpSystem-Core
> Repository: http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem
> Installs: Squeak-Project-Help-tbn.4.mcz
> 
> You can *read this and understand what it means*. You can fully document 
> it in about fifteen minutes. You can write a parser that reads such 
> definitions in five minutes (two if you'd be using XML because you'd 
> have the parser already).

Ah! A challenge. Ok, so I tweaked your DSL a bit by:

	- Surrounding all arguments with $' turning them into valid Squeak strings.
	- Ending all lines with $. turning each line into a "keyword message".

...and then it is actually fully valid Tirade (see URLs at end of post)!
Let me demonstrate:

| input |
input := 'Package: ''HelpSystem-Core''.
Version: ''1.0''.
Repository: ''http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem''.
Installs: ''HelpSystem-Core-tbn.1.mcz''.
Installs: ''HelpSystem-Tests-tbn.1.mcz''.

Package: ''HelpSystem''.
Version: ''1.0''.
IntendedPlatform: ''Squeak''.
IntendedVersion: ''3.10''.
Requires: ''HelpSystem-Core''.
Repository: ''http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem''.
Installs: ''Squeak-Project-Help.1.mcz''.

Package: ''HelpSystem''.
Version: ''1.0''.
IntendedPlatform: ''Pharo''.
IntendedVersion: ''1.0''.
Requires: ''HelpSystem-Core''.
Repository: ''http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem''.
Installs: ''Pharo-Project-Help.1.mcz''.

Package: ''HelpSystem''.
Version: ''1.1''.
IntendedPlatform: ''Squeak''.
IntendedVersion: ''4.0''.
Requires: ''HelpSystem-Core''.
Repository: ''http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem''.
Installs: ''Squeak-Project-Help-tbn.4.mcz''.'.

(TiradeRecordingReader parse: input) asArray
----------------
Doing "alt-p" on the above gives:

  #(#Package: #('HelpSystem-Core') #Version: #('1.0') #Repository: 
#('http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem') #Installs: 
#('HelpSystem-Core-tbn.1.mcz') #Installs: 
#('HelpSystem-Tests-tbn.1.mcz') #Package: #('HelpSystem') #Version: 
#('1.0') #IntendedPlatform: #('Squeak') #IntendedVersion: #('3.10') 
#Requires: #('HelpSystem-Core') #Repository: 
#('http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem') #Installs: 
#('Squeak-Project-Help.1.mcz') #Package: #('HelpSystem') #Version: 
#('1.0') #IntendedPlatform: #('Pharo') #IntendedVersion: #('1.0') 
#Requires: #('HelpSystem-Core') #Repository: 
#('http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem') #Installs: 
#('Pharo-Project-Help.1.mcz') #Package: #('HelpSystem') #Version: 
#('1.1') #IntendedPlatform: #('Squeak') #IntendedVersion: #('4.0') 
#Requires: #('HelpSystem-Core') #Repository: 
#('http://www.squeaksource.com/HelpSystem') #Installs: 
#('Squeak-Project-Help-tbn.4.mcz'))

Which is simply an Array representation of a series of Tirade messages. 
Of course, TiradeRecordningReader just does that and nothing smarter :)

Improvements:

- We don't need to only use strings as arguments. Symbols are fine as is 
numbers etc.
- We don't need to use one message per line (by ending each line with a 
$.) but in this case it might actually be the easiest way.

And yeah, it only took me ... 2 min. But not writing a parser... but 
stuffing in all the $' and $. :)

Ok, so you wonder what the HELL is Tirade? See my blog posts:

http://goran.krampe.se/blog/Squeak/Tirade.rdoc
http://goran.krampe.se/blog/Squeak/Tirade2.rdoc
http://goran.krampe.se/blog/Squeak/Tirade3.rdoc

regards, Göran