Differences

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--- at:download [2007/03/05 17:16] – tvcutsem
+++ at:download [2007/03/31 14:03] – tvcutsem
@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 ===== AmbientTalk/2 =====
+{{ atlogo.jpg?90|AmbientTalk}} AmbientTalk/2 is the latest incarnation of the AmbientTalk programming language. The language can best be described as 'a language for scripting your  PDA'. The language has been designed to implement distributed applications for mobile networks. The language provides built-in support for concurrency (actors), distributed message passing, peer-to-peer discovery, partial failure handling, ...
+AmbientTalk/2 has been designed to co-exist with available Java programs. It offers a symbiotic interface to the Java language, making it possible to instantiate and use Java objects from within AmbientTalk, and to pass AmbientTalk objects that implement a Java interface to the Java level. This makes AmbientTalk an ideal language to write 'distributed glue code' to make isolated Java programs talk to one another.
 == Download ==
-Download the [[http://prog.vub.ac.be/amop/downloads/at2-build050307.zip|latest build]].
+Download the [[http://prog.vub.ac.be/amop/downloads/at2-build230307.zip|latest build]]. See the [[at:changelog|changelog]] for changes w.r.t. previous versions.
 This build contains:
-  * The AmbientTalk/2 Interpreter (400K)
+  * The AmbientTalk/2 Interpreter (about 400K)
-  * The IAT Interactive AmbientTalk Shell (40K)
+  * The IAT Interactive AmbientTalk Shell (about 40K)
-  * Additional libraries (JGroups, ANTLR, LOG4J) used by the interpreter (5.5MB)
+  * The system library
+  * Additional libraries (JGroups, ANTLR, LOG4J) used by the interpreter (about 5.5MB)
+  * The TextMate plugin (see below)
+== Requirements ==
+The AmbientTalk/2 interpreter is written in pure Java and requires a regular J2SE Java Virtual Machine supporting version 1.3 or higher.
 == Installation and Usage ==
-To run the interactive shell, it suffices to launch the included **iat** shell script. IAT is a simple read-eval-print loop: statements are typed at the command line, evaluated and the result is printed to standard output. Note that the log and error traces are piped to the console.
+To run the interactive shell, it suffices to launch the included ''iat'' shell script. IAT is a simple read-eval-print loop: statements are typed at the command line, evaluated and the result is printed to standard output. Note that the log and error traces are piped to the console.
-For an overview of the iat shell options, excute:
+For an overview of the iat shell options, execute:
 <code>iat --help</code>
-<note>We advise you to add **iat** to the **$PATH** environment variable, such that **iat** can be invoked from any directory. </note>
+The system library shipped with the build can be found in the ''at/'' directory. It includes, among others, some demo applications and additional language constructs (most notably future-type asynchronous message sends). Also, the file ''at/init/init.at'' is loaded by default in each actor created at runtime to intialize that actor's global scope.
+<note>We advise you to add ''iat'' to the ''$PATH'' environment variable, such that ''iat'' can be invoked from any directory. Note also that ''iat'' assumes that the ''java'' executable is available on the ''$PATH''</note>
 == TextMate Plugin ==
-Support for AmbientTalk is available in the form of a [[http://www.macromates.com|TextMate]] bundle for AmbientTalk/2, which is available [[http://prog.vub.ac.be/amop/downloads/at2-tmbundle050307.zip|here]].
+Support for AmbientTalk is available in the form of a [[http://www.macromates.com|TextMate]] bundle for AmbientTalk/2, which is available in the latest build.
 The TextMate plugin supports:
   * Source code colouring
-  * Autocompletion for statements such as 'if', 'def' etc. (by pressing TAB)
+  * Autocompletion for statements such as ''if'', ''def'' etc. (by pressing TAB)
   * Running AmbientTalk/2 scripts by pressing Apple+R (output is shown in a separate window)
-Upon installing the bundle (just open the bundle file), you need to set the **AT_HOME** variable in the TextMate Preferences window (under the Advanced tab pane) to point to the directory in which iat can be found.
+<html><font color="red">Please note:</font></html> upon installing the bundle, you need to set the ''AT_HOME'' variable in the TextMate Preferences window (under the Advanced tab pane) to point to the directory in which iat can be found.
 For a full overview of the supported features, open the Bundles > Bundle Editor > Show Bundle Editor menu and select the AmbientTalk 2 bundle in the bundle editor. All available actions, together with their hotkey are listed there.
+== Versions ==
+The current build still requires a J2SE JVM (>= 1.4) to run. The next build, however, will be JDK-1.3 compatible and can be run under J2ME CDC/Personal Profile. This allows the next AT/2 build to run on PDAs and high-end cellular phones. A port to J2ME CLDC is currently not yet planned.
 == Documentation ==
+See the [[at:tutorial:tutorial|tutorial]] for an introduction to AmbientTalk/2. An overview of the available primitives and libraries is available in the [[at:reference:reference|language reference]].
 The [[http://prog.vub.ac.be/amop/at2doc|Javadoc of the Interpreter]] is also online. It provides documentation about the implementation of the interpreter. A design document describing the design of the interpreter will follow soon.