Day: October 15, 2011

So, now you can program for the web in a web language! Again, we move further to the “post-PC” era, where all you will need is a browser!

Dart, Structured Web Programming

“Dart is a new class-based programming language for creating structured web applications. Developed with the goals of simplicity, efficiency, and scalability, the Dart language combines powerful new language features with familiar language constructs into a clear, readable syntax.

Key features of the Dart language include:

Classes

Classes and interfaces provide a well understood mechanism for efficiently defining APIs. These constructs enable encapsulation and reuse of methods and data.

Optional types

Dart programmers can optionally add static types to their code. Depending on programmer preference and stage of application development, the code can migrate from a simple, untyped experimental prototype to a complex, modular application with typing. Because types state programmer intent, less documentation is required to explain what is happening in the code, and type-checking tools can be used for debugging.

Libraries

Developers can create and use libraries that are guaranteed not to change during runtime. Independently developed pieces of code can therefore rely on shared libraries.

Tooling

Dart will include a rich set of execution environments, libraries, and development tools built to support the language. These tools will enable productive and dynamic development, including edit-and-continue debugging and beyond—up to a style where you program an application outline, run it, and fill in the blanks as you run.”

So, simple, clean… looks easy to deal with for non-geeks.. we’ll see!

Meet the Windows 8 Task Manager

“Design simplicity is the key for Windows 8, and Microsoft recently discussed on its blog yet another popular Windows feature getting streamlined in Windows 8: the task manager. The new task manager echoes the design simplicity Microsoft was showing off earlier with the new copy file dialog.

Microsoft says three goals guided development of the new task manager, which is intended to appeal to non-techies and power users alike. The company says it wants to create a task manager that is optimized for common tasks (killing apps and processes), using a modern and functional interface, but without cutting out the favorite functions of power users.

For most users, the result is that Windows 8 won’t inundate you with a long list of unfriendly-looking processes like the task managers in Vista and Windows 7. Instead, the new OS shows a simplified list of programs that you can expand if you need to go beyond simply killing an app.”

So, LibreOffice will develop a version for Android, as well as the Web! Forward thinking of them!

Post-PC LibreOffice heads for Web, iOS, Android

“LibreOffice, the project forked from OpenOffice.org, is moving into the modern era with developers working on versions that run in Web browsers and on iOS and Android devices.

The Document Foundation announced the moves today at the LibreOffice Conference, but the work isn’t available yet for ordinary folks to try.
‘These are not products available to end users, but advanced development projects which will become products sometimes in late 2012 or early 2013,’ the foundation said today.

Still, the work shows signs that the project, which never seriously threatened the strength of Microsoft Office, is working to remain modern in a computing industry no longer dominated just by personal computers.

The LibreOffice Online prototype uses the GTK+ software framework, HTML’s new Canvas interface for 2D graphics, and the Web Socket interface for high-speed communications between a browser and a server. Michael Meeks of the Suse Linux project is leading the project, the foundation said.
Another Suse programmer, Tor Lillqvist, is working on versions for Android and iOS tablets with the hope that the software will arrive on smaller devices.

‘The user interface work has yet to start in earnest but the bulk of the code is compiling,’ the foundation said of the work.
The foundation also announced that several French government agencies are switching 500,000 computers, mostly Windows machines, from OpenOffice.org to LibreOffice. ‘This increases the Windows installed base of LibreOffice by 5 percent in a single move,’ the foundation said.’