LOGIN | REGISTER NOW | SUBSCRIBE
 

Sun's Lively Kernel Comes to Life


JavaScript kernel shows off what the future could look like for Web browsers

By Alex Handy
Email    print   
October 5, 2007 —  (Page 1 of 2)
A research project unveiled by Sun Microsystems yesterday has brought back memories of Xerox PARC for one industry veteran. Known as the Lively Kernel, the JavaScript-based operating environment that allows for user interactions resembles those outlined by Alan Kay and others in the 1970s. With heavy Smalltalk influences and a hearty helping of the GPL, this open source project is now available for experimentation.

Kay, one of the originators of object-oriented programming and of the graphical user interface, was on hand at the demonstration to support friend and colleague Dan Ingalls, the lead on Sun’s Lively Kernel project. Kay commented that the demonstration resembled some of the things he'd created and demoed at the fabled Xerox PARC research facility some 30 years ago. The key difference here, however, is that all of the demonstrations took place inside a Web browser. Ingalls demonstrated the capabilities of the Lively Kernel to a crowd that included other members of the Smalltalk community.

The project began as an attempt to build a virtual machine inside JavaScript, but evolved into an entirely new platform for building Web applications. “What we've done is to take the things that are given to you in a browser and bring them alive in the way I've always wanted systems to be alive,” said Ingalls. The Lively Kernel is so flexible that editing its underpinnings can be done while it runs. The kernel can also spawn new copies of itself, and is recursive in the sense that a panel used to modify window styles can be modified by another instance of itself.

During the demonstration, Ingalls showed off the underlying scalable vector graphics engine of the Lively Kernel. Objects and windows created inside the kernel can be rotated, animated, enlarged and shrunk on the fly. One demonstration showed an animated clock face—Ingalls modified the clock code within the Lively Kernel, and the second hand began to tick backward as soon as the change was saved. Ingalls then attached a rotating polygon to the second hand, and the two objects became a single object encompassing the inherited properties of both. All of this can be done, explained Ingalls, due to the nature of dynamic languages such as JavaScript.




Pages 1 2 


Share this link: http://sdt.bz/31198
 
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Zeichick’s Take: Radio moves from analog waveforms to digital packets
Streaming radio highlights the need for streaming applications to be designed to take up as little bandwidth as possible
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
Appcelerator Acquires Cocoafish to Add Instant Mobile Cloud Capabilities to its Industry Leading Titanium Platform
Appcelerator Offers Messaging, Social, Location and Storage Mobile Cloud Services to All Mobile App Publishers
ComponentOne Releases a Collection of 40+ UI Widgets Powered by HTML5 and jQuery
ComponentOne has announced the 2012 release of Wijmo: a kit of UI widgets for HTML5 and jQuery development
Digg!  Digg
Reddit  Reddit
Slashdot  Slashdot
Share on facebook  Facebook
Share on Twitter  Twitter


Add comment


Name*
Email*  
Country     


  • Comment
Loading




close
NEXT ARTICLE
Lighthouse 5.0 links PPM with life-cycle management
Artifact's latest version of its SaaS project management product introduces project and portfolio management to its capabilities. It can now organize testing data, requirements and other information for testing teams, making work go more smoothly, according to the company Read More...
 
 
 
 
News on Monday
more>>
SharePoint Tech Report
more>>


   

 
 

Download Current Issue
FEBRUARY 2012 PDF ISSUE

Need Back Issues?
DOWNLOAD HERE

Want to subscribe?


 
blogs tab
Are you at risk for burnout?
Burnout is a severe problem and it can strike at any time. Here's how to tell if you are nearing the edge.
02/09/2012 02:16 PM EST

Agility, mom, and apple pie
If we're to evaluate the state-of-the-art in software development, we should start with the values espoused in the Agile Manifesto.
02/07/2012 11:57 AM EST

RIM woos developers with free tablet
How do you get more apps ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook? By giving every developer a free tablet, of course!
02/04/2012 01:57 PM EST

GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
02/03/2012 12:17 PM EST

Facebook claims hacker cred
Facebook's SEC S-1 filing form includes a short essay on the Hacker Way by Mark Zuckerberg himself.
02/02/2012 08:26 AM EST

Ryan Dahl steps down
Ryan Dahl, creator of Node.js, steps back from his position as gatekeeper for the project.
02/01/2012 04:58 PM EST

 
Events calendar tab
Cloud Connect
2/13/2012 to 2/16/2012
Santa Clara
TechWeb

SPTechCon: The SharePoint Technology Conf.
2/26/2012 to 2/29/2012
San Francisco
BZ Media

RSA Conf.
2/27/2012 to 3/2/2012
San Francisco
RSA

IBM Pulse Conf.
3/4/2012 to 3/7/2012
Las Vegas
IBM Tivoli

Game Developer Conf.
3/5/2012 to 3/9/2012
San Francisco
TechWeb