extprosys-announce — General Announcements About XPS

[XPS-announce] XPS 0.2.0 Released

[Reid S. <re...@x1...>]

Hello,

XPS 0.2.0 was released today. This is a pre-release version of the
eXtensible Programming System. After two years of integration with LLVM
and battling the XML validation challenge, we are finally making
progress again. For full details, please review the release notes at
http://x-p-s.net/releases/0.2/docs/ReleaseNotes.shtml.

This version marks some significant milestones in XPS development:

* The definition of XPL core has been finalized. XPL core is the lowest
  level language that XPS supports. It provides semantics very close to
  the semantics of the LLVM intermediate representation.
* This release provides a version of xplc, the XPL compiler, that can
  validate XPL core programs and reproduce them in XPL as output. This
  is used to verify that the basic parsing, validation, compilation and
  generation infrastructure is in working order.
* This release offers a test suite with 1000+ test cases derived from
  the LLVM 1.5 Feature and Regression tests. The test suite is used to
  ensure that all semantic constructs are recognized by the compiler and
  correctly interpreted and processed.
* This release introduces the XPL Back End for LLVM which can generate
  valid XPL source code from any LLVM intermediate represenation.
* XPS now uses Subversion for its source code repository.
* XPS selected Relax NG for XML validation.
* XPS incorporated the JING Relax NG validator.
* XPS now uses the LLVM Makefile System for configuration and building.

For further details on XPS, please visit http://x-p-s.org/

Best Regards,

Reid Spencer

[XPS-announce] XPS Home Page Improved

[Reid S. <dev...@re...>]

XPSers,

I've just completed a set of modifications to the XPS home page that
should make it a little easier to read/manage:

1. Changed the theme to use "black on white" instead of "blue on black"
color theme (easier on the eyes).
2. Reduced the size of the main index page and put its content on the
"overview" page of the project section.
3. Merged the Components and Architecture sections. The components are
now listed on a single page under the architecture section.

For those of you that have been waiting, I'll be working on documenting
the architecture in a little more detail over the next couple of weeks.
This should provide the high level overview that you're looking for.

Best Regards,

Reid Spencer
XPS Project Lead.

[XPS-announce] XPS API Documentation Updated

[Reid S. <dev...@re...>]

XPSers,

Just a quick note to let you know that I've updated the XPS API
documentation on Source Forge. There is now a complete introduction and
brief documentation for every namespace, class and file.  The detailed
documentation for classes is still spotty but if you look at the various
indices, you should get a good general understanding of the structure of
the XPS code.  From now on I will be publishing the documentation with
each release and keeping it up to date and correct.  

To read the API documentation, please go here: 

http://extprosys.sourceforge.net/docs/apis/html/index.html


-- 
Reid Spencer <dev...@re...>
extprosys: eXtensible Programming System Team

[XPS-announce] XPS 0.1.9 Released

[Reid S. <dev...@re...>]

Everyone,

I have just committed, tagged, and released version 0.1.9 of XPS.
Although I expected to be releasing the reflective compiler at this
point, I got sidetracked with various housekeeping issues. The
reflective compiler will be in the next release 0.2.0, hopefully within
the next month (depending on my work schedule).  Release 0.1.9 fixes a
lot of housekeeping issues for XPS. Among them are: 

      * Removal Of Dependence On ACE. Although the venerable Adaptive
        Communications Environment has served us well, I've removed it
        from XPS because it was (a) too large, (b) too heavy (contained
        way more features than XPS will every need), and (c) too hard to
        configure and customize.  While ACE isn't with us any more, we
        thank Doug Schmidt, et.al. for their great inspiration. Many of
        the patterns implemented in ACE will live on in XPS. 
      * Source now in "xps". There is a new top level source directory
        named "xps" that replaces the now defunct "src". This directory
        now contains all the software. This was necessary in order to
        avoid complicated autoconf work to make links in the right
        places. This assists use with getting the right path for
        including header files. 
      * Removal of $ Log $ Lines. These lines were bloating the size of
        the source files and mostly redundant. If you want to look at
        the history, please use the "cvs log" command or browse it on
        the site.  Since all the files were changing to the "xps"
        directory, I took the opportunity to clean these lines out since
        all the files were getting fresh versions. 
      * New "os" module. This module provides an operating system
        abstraction layer that provides simple abstractions implemented
        by most operating systems without the need to #include ANY
        system header files. This greatly speeds compilation and
        provides a very concrete boundary between XPS and the operating
        system. Support for files, memory mapping, asynchronous file
        I/O, signal handling, dynamic libraries, threading, and
        synchronization is currently implemented. Coming later will be
        process management, asynchronous messaging, asynchronous socket
        I/O, timers, and shared memory.  Much of this will be used to
        implement the XVM. 
      * New "base" module. If you ever looked at the old "util" module,
        you'll probably find "base" familiar. Most of the classes have
        migrated there. That's needed because of library ordering and
        dependency. Think of "base" as operating system independent
        stuff (dependent only on language features). Parts of the old
        "util" module were dependent on the "os" module so we moved the
        parts that weren't to "base" and left the rest in "util".  This
        is one of the consequences of removing ACE. 
      * Missing modules. The "adt", "meta", "task", "xvmapi", and
        "xplec" modules have been temporarily removed. There is
        significant work to do in these modules and rather than commit
        them half-baked, I chose not to commit them at all for this
        release. They'll reappear in 0.2.0. Its better that you don't
        read broken code anyway.

As with the 0.1.8 release, you can build the XPL compiler (xplc) and use
it for checking your XPL program syntax. The XPS Daemon (xpsd), XPS
Shell (xpsh), and XPS Virtual Machine (xvm) all build correctly but
don't do anything other than print version information.

If you're going to build this, please read the file "INSTALL" before you
proceed. It will help you get the software you need in order
to successfully build XPS.  As always, please let me know if you have
questions or problems.

Best Regards,

-- 
Reid Spencer <dev...@re...>
Open Source Developer

[XPS-announce] XPS Update

[Reid S. <re...@re...>]

XPS Folks,

Several things have happened over the last month of general interest
that I thought you'd like to know about.

        * Web Site. The main web site at
          http://extprosys.sourceforge.net/ (also available at
          http://x10sible.org/) has been completely revised and
          reorganized. It now uses a simple PHP theme and contains more
          sections. Of particular note is a complete release plan for
          XPS through version 1.0, access to project status and news,
          and sections for descriptions of the architecture and
          components of XPS.
        * Formation of XSI. I have recently incorporated a company named
          eXtensible Systems, Inc. to foster the development of XPS. The
          company will seek investment capital to speed XPS development
          and will offer commercial services and products based on XPS.
          The XSI web site is not complete, but you can preview it at
          http://www.x10sys.com/ ).
        * SaveSomeGeeks.com. Inspired by the success of
          www.savekaryn.com, I decided to see if XPS could benefit from
          donations by Internet users. I don't know if this experiment
          will go anywhere, but you can read my e-panhandling attempt at
          http://savesomegeeks.com/. All net proceeds will go directly
          to funding XPS development work.  Help me promote this site
          and it might just turn into some contract $ for XPS
          developers.
        * Architecture Changes. I've changed the architecture slightly
          to include a general services daemon (XPSD) separate from the
          XVM.  The XPSD will provide software development services to
          XPS developers. I have also renamed XVMSH as XPSH to more
          accurately reflect its character as an interface into the
          entire XPS system rather than just the XVM. I've also started
          to document some of the extensions to XPS that we will tackle
          early: User Interface, Virtual Reality Programming, Database
          Interface, and Logic Programming.
        * ADT Design. I have started an Abstract Data Types library to
          provide the basic ADTs needed by XPS that are compatible with
          its memory system. This includes things like lists, stacks,
          queues, maps, hash tables, etc.  I have a number of design
          issues with this module and could really use some help
          rationalizing it.  Anyone interested in this area, please
          contact me soon as this is what I'm working next. Its needed
          to support the compiler's symbol table which is holding up
          release 0.2.0.

That's it for now. I would appreciate your feedback on the websites and
other plans.

Best Regards,

Reid.

[XPS-announce] XPS 0.1.5 Released

[Reid S. <ras...@re...>]

XPSers,

I have released version 0.1.5 of the eXtensible Programming System. 
This release contains the following:

        1. Simplified XPL.xsd (XML schema for XPL) that eliminates all
           the abstract elements, provides a consistent naming for the
           operators, adds additional functionality not previously in
           XPL. Review the annotations and comments in the XPL.xsd
           schema file or browse with XML Spy.
        2. A new sample program, HelloWorld.xpl has been added to the
           src/schemas/tests directory. You can review this familiar
           program as a way to get familiar with XPL. However, this
           version of "Hello World" can print out the greeting in five
           languages so its not quite as trivial as you might expect.
        3. Full support for autoconf/automake. The bulk of the
           configuration work is done. The remaining work in this area
           will pertain to ensuring the correct set of capability tests
           are provided. The current build system is capable of building
           different configurations (one per build directory) right
           through distribution. The XPS 0.1.5 release was made with
           "make dist".
        4. An improved memory allocation system. The Segment classes
           have been revamped to be more efficient and to implement
           missing functionality. The Region class has been totally
           revised to minimized bookkeeping overhead and allow users to
           roll their own region configuration.  Two features remain:
           making the system work with transient memory as well as
           persistent memory and making it all thread safe (Segment
           class is already thread safe).
        5. New modules: adt (Abstract Data Types), obj (Object Schema),
           meta (Object meta schema), space (workspaces, etc.). These
           four modules are in a rudimentary form but all are part of
           the XPL compiler, xplc. The space module manages a user's
           workspace which is simply a directory with XPL programs,
           compilation objects, & etc.  The meta module provides the
           type system for XPL and the compiler will use these classes
           to capture the declarations of various types from user
           programs. The adt module provides persistent-aware abstract
           data types such as sets, vectors, arrays, maps, and hash
           tables. These will be similar in nature to the STL but much
           simpler and with the ability to handle persistent memory
           allocation.
        6. The "util" module now contains two new classes: "Config" and
           "MsgLoader". The Config class provides for configuration of
           the various XPS modules via XML-based configuration files.
           The schema for the files is in the Configuration.xsd file in
           the src/schemas directory. The configuration files are quite
           simple. Properties are placed in groups which can contain
           either groups or properties. The MsgLoader class provides
           (via ICU) loading of natural language messages for XPS. The
           messages are stored in the "*.msgs" files and these can be
           internationalized as we go along. This means that all
           user-bound messages generated by XPS can be reported in
           multiple natural languages. 
        7. The "test" module has been merged into the "util" module to
           eliminate cyclic build dependencies. Unfortunately, this
           means that some of the separation of concerns has to be
           handled in the makefiles in the util module. Hope you never
           have to go there.
        8. The XPL compiler will validate your XPL program, and report
           errors. However, it currently doesn't compile to anything.
           That is the next step (release 0.2.0).
        9. The XVM is currently just a skeleton. This program will
           eventually be the backbone of any running XPL program.
       10. The XVMSH is currently just a skeleton. This program will
           translate user level commands into something the XVM can act
           upon.

If you would like to try this early release out, here's what you need to
do:

        1. Get the distribution file from here:
           http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=51164
        2. Use winzip or "tar" to extract the files.
        3. In the xps-0.1.5 directory you should find files named README
           and INSTALL. Read them, it'll save you some time.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to ask.

Best Regards,

Reid.

[XPS-announce] XPL Schema Released

[Reid S. <ras...@re...>]

*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm) Pro*
Fellow extensible programmers,

I have (finally!) released the initial draft of the XPL schema
definition. The released files can be found on SourceForge.net at the
following location:

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=51164 

There are two releases under the "XPL" package, XPL-en and XPL-Abstract.
In both these releases there are .gz, .xsd, and .zip files. The .xsd
file contains just the schema definition so that if you have a schema
browser (e.g. XML Spy), this is all you need to download. The .zip and
gz files both contain full (generated) documentation on the schema and
are provided for those of you who do not have XML schema browsers. 

The XPL-Abstract release contains the abstract syntax for XPL. Only
abstract schema elements are defined in this schema. Names of elements
are descriptive of their purpose with respect to the compiler. This
schema is not meant for programming but provides the abstract syntax of
the language and is the basis upon which the compiler is built. Each
element forms the head of a substitution group that is intended to be
replaced with appropriately named elements for the various natural
languages.
 
The XPL-en release contains the concrete English language version of
XPL. Other languages will come along as we interest international open
source developers in XPL. The XPL-en release contains only concrete
elements that are members of the substitution groups defined in the
XPL-Abstract schema. Consequently, XPL-en is dependent on XPL-Abstract
so you'll need both schema files to view XPL-en properly.

Your comments on this new language definition are welcome. However,
please note that this is a work in progress. If you wish to contribute
substantially to this language, please join the SourceForge project so
we can disseminate information more easily. Documentation and continual
refinement will continue through the remainder of 2002 at which time
another release of the language definition will be made.

Best Regards,

Reid Spencer
XPS Project Manager