[Ecolab-list] Ecolab 5 released

[Russell S. <hp...@hp...>]

I have just released Ecolab 5.D1. This is a major version change in
that the API has changed in a few siginificant ways.

Classdesc 3 (also just released) has a number of improvements,
including changing the descriptor signature, better support for
descriptor access to private members, improved polymorphism support,
improved reflection support of functionals (determining arity and
types of functions via metaprogramming techniques) and two new
descriptors supporting Java integration and JSON serialisation.

The opportunity was also taken to rationalise namespace support -
EcoLab should play more nicely in bigger projects.

Longer term, the old "EcoLab 5 project", which was launched in 2007,
is back in business as the "EcoLab 6 project". Much of the necessary
support work has been done in the Classdesc 3 project - now it needs
to be turned into a full EcoLab.

The vision is an EcoLab library that allows a user-written C++ model
be automatically reflected into various frameworks, including the
existing TCL framework (dubbed Classic EcoLab), Java frameworks (such
as RePast and any scripting environment supported by SWIG.

If anyone is interested in getting involved in the project, we have
room for people with Java/JNI skills, and a little later on once the
EcoLab 6 API congeals, people to port well-known agent-based models as
demonstrators and case-studies. If you're interested, please get back
to me with your SourceForge id so I can add you to the project, and
get you access to the code repository.

Cheers, Russell.

-- 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prof Russell Standish                  Phone 0425 253119 (mobile)
Mathematics                         	 
UNSW SYDNEY 2052         	         hp...@hp...
Australia                                http://www.hpcoders.com.au
----------------------------------------------------------------------------