Re: [Pharo-users] [ANN] (Re)Introducing Mars (Spec 2.0 Gtk3 bindings)

[Alexandre Bergel via Pharo-users]

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Hi Esteban,

This is fantastic! We are eager to investigate how Roassal3 can run in an 
external window.

Alexandre

> On Apr 18, 2019, at 6:08 AM, Esteban Lorenzano <esteba...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> People that assisted to Pharo Days 2019 (or that follow my twitter account) 
> already know this, but it needs to be formally announced: 
> 
> We are working on Spec 2.0, and it will provide not just the classic Morphic 
> bindings but also a new option for developers: Gtk3 bindings!
> 
> Why we want a Spec 2.0 with different backends?
> 
> There are reasons that converged to decide us to make it:
> 
>       • First, to provide a validated abstract Spec 2.0 that can be used with 
> different backends, preparing Pharo to be able to switch backends without 
> needing to recreate the full IDE from scratch each time (a problem we have 
> partially now in our way to deprecate Morphic).
>       • Second, because we receive from different sources the requirement of 
> having the possibility of developing real native-looking desktop 
> applications. Yes, in moment where people talk about the cloud, SaaS and 
> web-applications as the "next big thing" (something that is been declared 
> since years, by the way), we believe is important to provide this, for two 
> big reasons: 
>               • Because there is still an important place for desktop 
> applications market and most medium-size to big business still require them.
>               • Because Pharo itself is a desktop application! (And we need 
> to provide the best experience possible on it).
> 
> For us, this is a fundamental step to continue improving Pharo itself, and it 
> matches also the work we are doing on going real-headless:  Pharo users will 
> be able to start the Morphic world, a Gtk application or the next backend to 
> come.
> 
> Why Gtk3?
> 
> There are some other important players in the "native widgets scene", so why 
> we choose Gtk3? 
> 
> Again, several reasons  were taken into account: 
> 
>       • Gtk3 is cross platform. Yes, technically is just "native" in linux, 
> but it works on Windows and macOS too. 
>       • It is very mature and popular.
>       • It is made in plain C.
> 
> Next step: tool migration
> 
> The only way to know if you have covered what is needed is actually taking 
> real-life use cases and implementing them. We have a list of tools that needs 
> to be migrated and we are starting from them: 
> 
>       • Old GT tools will be replaced by new Spec tools (while preserving its 
> power).
>       • Calypso UI needs to be rewritten in Spec 2.0 (it is in plain Morphic 
> now).
>       • Pharo launcher as a standalone application is a good example of what 
> you can do with the Gtk3 bindings.
> 
> And that's it. Pharo 8.0 will come with Spec 2.0 and users will be able to 
> benefit of it immediately :)
> 
> 
> A small screenshot of the new Inspector (WIP): 
> 
> <Screenshot 2019-04-18 at 12.07.16.png>
> 
> Esteban

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