[squeak-dev] re: WebDAV interface design for launching, browsing, debugging, workspaces

Craig Latta craig at netjam.org
Tue Dec 23 09:09:28 UTC 2014


Hi--

     Tim writes:

> For those of us that have no clue, some guidance on how to do
> anything with it would be great.

     While Context is in alpha, stuff will be missing, especially
instructions. If you ever get confused about something, please create an
issue about it in the Context repo[1]. You can also chat in real time
with Context developers[2].

     In particular, the implementation of this design is not finished.
I'd like to get feedback on the design.

     Chris Cunnington writes:

> ...if there was a prize for obfuscation of what it is [Craig] does,
> he’d win a prize.

     Yikes, I certainly don't mean to obfuscate anything. I don't think
Tim was confused about the theory of operation; hopefully the blog post
he read explained it. Again, if you're ever confused about something in
Context, please create an issue about it, and drop by [2] for a chat. I
correct some misinterpretations below.

> What you see first, the web page, is almost irrelevant to
> understanding Spoon. What you’ve seen so far? Forget it.

     No, the console welcome page gives a high-level introduction to
what Context and Smalltalk are. It's completely relevant.

> [Context] is about having a client image provide tools that remotely
> operate on a server [memory], a smaller [memory], called the
> ‘history' [memory].

     No, the history memory records the history of edits made to a
subject memory (where you do normal development). It takes the place of
the changes and sources files of a traditional Smalltalk system. Remote
operation can happen between any two systems. The history memory happens
to be headless, but one wouldn't normally browse its classes. It just
sits in the background recording what you do, and answering
history-related queries from the subject. It's an application-specific
object database, where the application is recording history.

> What you’re looking at is not one Apple application, .app file, but
> two.

     (The outer app starts the console webserver and a host web browser
to view it. The inner app is the normal Squeak app.)

> The images that matter are super buried...

     The point of the console is to provide an easy way to list, start,
and stop memories, and avoid having to dig through the app folder at
all. The structure of the app folder is a composite of three sets of
host platform packaging constraints, so it is inevitably complex.

> To no help at all, they have not names, but UUIDs.

     By using the console, the user doesn't need to care what the
snapshot filenames are, or even that snapshots are stored in files at
all. Each memory can have whatever user-friendly names you like; the
console welcome page lists them, along with the services the memory
provides.

> This is where you need to start.

     No, you need to start at the console, and if something is confusing
and/or doesn't work as you expect, you need to create an issue for it
and have a chat with us at [2]. :)

> Execute the above and you get [memory
> 23687C16-EBB8-48B7-A38D-1B8D9216865B]. The master control panel.

     No, that's merely a Squeak 4.5 memory that has remote messaging
support installed. What it can do (remote class browsing, remote process
browsing, get history recording service from a history memory) are
things any memory with that support installed can do. It's not special.
The console website is the master control panel.

> ...[memory 946BE974-48B7-4D11-B209-6355B3E49722], the history
> [memory], has a server in it that is serving the page you are lead to
> look at first.

     Memory 946BE974-48B7-4D11-B209-6355B3E49722 isn't meant to record
history for anyone, nor is it meant to be hacked on. It's only meant to
run the console.

     It sounds to me like you're complaining that the software is alpha,
rather than about the design of the console. It seems you're unwilling
to evaluate the design of the console until the implementation is
finished. If you insist on that, you probably want to wait until Context
is beta before thinking about it. But I hope you change your mind!


     thanks again,

-C

[1] https://github.com/ccrraaiigg/context/issues
[2] http://squeak.slack.com (channel #context)

--
Craig Latta
netjam.org
+31   6 2757 7177 (SMS ok)
+ 1 415  287 3547 (no SMS)



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