Objective-J and Cappuccino Released

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Objective-J and Cappuccino Released

Posted by kdawson on Friday September 5, 2008 @03:08AM from the hot-bits dept.

Wizard Drongo writes "280 North, who earlier this year released 280 Slides, a revolutionary new type of web-app written in Objective-J using the Cappuccino framework (both of which they also wrote), have today made good on their promise to open-source the language and framework. From their about page: 'Cappuccino is an open source application framework for developing applications that look and feel like the desktop software users are familiar with. Cappuccino was implemented using a new programming language called Objective-J, which is modeled after Objective-C and built entirely on top of JavaScript. Programs written in Objective-J are interpreted in the client, so no compilation or plugins are required. Objective-J is released alongside Cappuccino in this project and under the LGPL.' You can download the framework, tools, documentation and more on their website."

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Hmmm.... by Otter · 2008-09-05 03:14 · Score: 3, Funny

I'd say that the Objective-J name is confusing given the existence of a J language, but I guess Microsoft has already muddied those waters with J++ and J#...

--
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
1. Re:Hmmm.... by zoward · 2008-09-05 03:23 · Score: 2
  
  Confusing (and unappealing) names seem to be part of the software landscape. The important part of the announcement is that they open sourced the language and framework. Free software gains another set of tools. This is a Good Thing. Props to 280 North.
  
  --
  "Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"
2. Re:Hmmm.... by larry+bagina · 2008-09-05 03:33 · Score: 1
  
  It's LGPL so ALL software (or at least web apps) can benefit.
  
  --
  Do you even lift?
  These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
3. Re:Hmmm.... by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · 2008-09-05 03:40 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I really wasn't sure if you were talking about Java, or another language simply called J that I had never heard of. Turns out there is a language named J that I've never heard of before. I can't imagine too many people would be confused. Most people have never even heard of J++ or J#,let a lone J.
  
  --
  Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
4. Re:Hmmm.... by MBCook · 2008-09-05 03:44 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Would you have preferred Visual Objective-J++.Net 3.0b MSDN Edition?
  The name is not bad. The main thing it does to me is imply Objective-C heritage which is what it is supposed to do. The J could be confused with Java though. Objective-JS would have cleared that up, but then it doesn't sound nearly as close to Objective-C.
  This is all the fault of that decision long ago to name JavaScript after Java for marketing reasons.
  I'd suggest Objective-ECMA, but that sounds like the test for a skin rash.
  PS: What's with the "nod" tags today?
  
  --
  Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
5. Re:Hmmm.... by LotsOfPhil · 2008-09-05 03:52 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  I think most people have heard of J. I have never used J and know nothing about J, but I have heard of it. So, even though Objective-J was just released, I am as proficient in Objective-J as in J. Again, I think most people reading this are now in the same situation :)
  
  --
  This post climbed Mt. Washington.
6. Re:Hmmm.... by Shados · 2008-09-05 04:14 · Score: 1
  
  Man, you're so out of it... Microsoft's naming scheme as of Team Foundation Server's release is so much more precise...
  
  So it would be: Visual Objective J# 2008 Team Edition for Rich Internet Application Developer, Service Pack 1.
7. Re:Hmmm.... by H0p313ss · 2008-09-05 04:47 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I have never used J and know nothing about J
  Rest assured that those who have and do mostly run away screaming...
  *looks askance at those who like J*
  Those who do *NOT* run away screaming are probably likely to prefer developing Java in notepad, think perl is a good application framework and partake in usenet arguments about usable GIMP is.
  What? Me bitter?
  
  --
  XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
8. Re:Hmmm.... by rk · 2008-09-05 05:25 · Score: 1
  
  Somewhere on my list of "things to do when I get a time machine":
  Find the Netscape and Sun marketroids who coined the name "JavaScript" and kick them all in the gender-appropriate gonads before they do it.
9. Re:Hmmm.... by Khazunga · 2008-09-05 06:33 · Score: 1
  
  Might as well grab a list of all induhviduals and go throught time kicking their gender-appropriate gonads in proper alphabetical order.
  
  --
  If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you
10. Re:Hmmm.... by drpimp · 2008-09-05 08:19 · Score: 1
  
  The concept sounds cool, and a glance at the demos and stuff are impressive. I totally agree with your comments on the naming convention, but I bet there will be a lot of Objective-BS coming from some of the slashdot crowd no matter how you slice it!
  
  --
  -- Brought to you by Carl's JR
11. Re:Hmmm.... by adavies42 · 2008-09-07 16:38 · Score: 1
  
  We're talking about ASCII APL, right? That's for lamers, real programmers use K. {{y@&x'y}[{&/x-l*_x%l:2_!x}]3_!x}50 3 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 29 31 37 41 43 47 that's primes < 50 (fairly naively, i'll admit)
  
  --
  Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
  -kfg
And for their next trick: by PrescriptionWarning · 2008-09-05 03:14 · Score: 3, Funny

they'll make yet another online spreadsheet application! I can hardly contain myself!
1. Re:And for their next trick: by MightyYar · 2008-09-05 03:22 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  If it's as cool as their online presentation application, I'll actually be a tiny bit excited. The newest browsers actually run 280slides.com pretty well. Safari is acceptable and Chrome actually screams.
  For the love of God, please don't run it in IE.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
2. Re:And for their next trick: by Ngarrang · 2008-09-05 03:22 · Score: 1
  
  they'll make yet another online spreadsheet application! I can hardly contain myself!
  Nay sayer! Besides, spreadsheets are so passe. They will be actually bring back Lotus Improv, a program that was ahead of its time.
  
  --
  Bearded Dragon
3. Re:And for their next trick: by Paradise+Pete · 2008-09-05 03:36 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  they'll make yet another online spreadsheet application! I can hardly contain myself!
  Years and years ago, when I was working for a mainframe timeshare outfit and was teaching myself to program, one of the technicians said to me "Why do you want to do that? All the software anybody needs has already been written."
  You remind me a little of that guy.
4. Re:And for their next trick: by mweather · 2008-09-05 03:56 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  You can't deny that every single spreadsheet is just a re-implementation of VisiCalc.
5. Re:And for their next trick: by aproposofwhat · 2008-09-05 03:56 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  For the love of God, please don't run it in IE.
  I just tried that, and it's hellishly slow in IE6, but runs like shit off a shovel in Firefox 3.
  I haven't tried Chrome yet, but I'm guessing the shovel in that case will be chrome as well.
  One thing that did piss me off was the "Download and Present" slide, which reminded me that Powerpoint 2007 format is "an ISO standard". While true, such statements are prone to making me quite irate :P
  
  --
  One swallow does not a fellatrix make
6. Re:And for their next trick: by Forbman · 2008-09-05 04:17 · Score: 1
  
  I don't think that Lotus Symphony was... it was WAY different than 1-2-3, Excel, QuattroPlus, et al...
7. Re:And for their next trick: by Forbman · 2008-09-05 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  Doh! It was Lotus Improv that was way ahead of its time...
8. Re:And for their next trick: by Blakey+Rat · 2008-09-05 04:54 · Score: 1
  
  No joking. Could this "280slides" site be more of a ripoff of Powerpoint? I doubt it.
  Oh, and the default font is Comic Sans. That alone makes it worthy of derision.
  
  --
  Comment of the year
9. Re:And for their next trick: by MistrBlank · 2008-09-05 05:42 · Score: 1
  
  It looks like they ripped all the icons off of Apple domain (the demo screenshot is even in a Safari browser)... I thought the idea was to create environments that looked native? Are they even allowed to use Apple's icons?
10. Re:And for their next trick: by nog_lorp · 2008-09-05 05:54 · Score: 1
  
  What?
  280Slides runs noticeably better for me in FF 3.0.1 than in Chrome. Thats with 2 tabs open in FF and 0 in Chrome.
11. Re:And for their next trick: by Kingrames · 2008-09-05 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  Back in my day we had used tic tac toe boards for our spreadsheets, and we liked it. you whippersnappers and your visicalc.
  
  --
  If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
12. Re:And for their next trick: by MightyYar · 2008-09-05 06:21 · Score: 1
  
  You're right - it does look ripped right from Apple. But I opened up Keynote and 280Slides side-by-side, and it is clear they've only copied the "look and feel", but they haven't copied any of the icons.
  I don't think they have any intention of making applications look "native". The applications will look exactly the same one every browser on every OS - at least in theory. Since they modeled it on OpenStep, it ends up looking very NeXT/Apple Cocoa.
  
  --
  W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
13. Re:And for their next trick: by Anonymous Coward · 2008-09-05 08:43 · Score: 0
  
  One thing that did piss me off was the "Download and Present" slide, which reminded me that Powerpoint 2007 format is "an ISO standard". While true, such statements are prone to making me quite irate :P
  but, it is not true; the OOXML approved by ISO is not the OOXML used by Office 2007
14. Re:And for their next trick: by tyrione · 2008-09-05 10:29 · Score: 1
  
  they'll make yet another online spreadsheet application! I can hardly contain myself!
  Nay sayer! Besides, spreadsheets are so passe. They will be actually bring back Lotus Improv, a program that was ahead of its time.
  If only Numbers could duplicate what Improv on NeXTSTEP then it would be something truly to threaten Microsoft.
15. Re:And for their next trick: by tyrione · 2008-09-05 10:30 · Score: 1
  
  I don't think that Lotus Symphony was... it was WAY different than 1-2-3, Excel, QuattroPlus, et al...
  It's Quattro Pro and it was far superior to Excel, especially for us traditional Engineering majors [ME/EE/ChemE, et.al].
16. Re:And for their next trick: by Jack9 · 2008-09-05 14:31 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  This framework and language offers nothing new nor a compelling reason to use them. So your comparison is bad and your point is an attempt to look clever while failing to understand the wasted time and effort. I worked for years as a sysadmin, in a company with much more (experience and talent than these guys) while attempting to do what this framework is still trying to do. It takes about 1/10th the time and effort to create a BETTER flash app to anything that can be developed with these heavy JS frameworks.
  
  --
  
  Often wrong but never in doubt.
  I am Jack9.
  Everyone knows me.
17. Re:And for their next trick: by smallfries · 2008-09-05 15:33 · Score: 1
  
  What about VisiCalc. You're not saying it was really written by John Titor in a previous trip are you?
  
  --
  Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
18. Re:And for their next trick: by Paradise+Pete · 2008-09-05 16:30 · Score: 1
  
  You read a lot into what I wrote. So allow me to do the same. You don't know what you're talking about.
19. Re:And for their next trick: by Frantactical+Fruke · 2008-09-07 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  Apparently it takes quite a bit of time and effort to create a flash app that doesn't crash on Linux, since I haven't seen one yet...
...and JJ by gschwim · 2008-09-05 03:20 · Score: 1

Dy-no-mite!
Breakfast by alstor · 2008-09-05 03:22 · Score: 2, Funny

OJ and Cappuccino...goes well with Java in a Bistro? Who makes these names up? I guess it's better than having Caml with Curry, or waking up with a Brainfuck.
1. Re:Breakfast by east+coast · 2008-09-05 03:44 · Score: 1
  
  I'd walk a mile to code in Caml.
  
  --
  Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
2. Re:Breakfast by deniable · 2008-09-05 03:52 · Score: 1
  
  My guess is guys stuck in marketing meetings and waiting for lunch.
nod? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-09-05 03:46 · Score: 0

Posting anonymously since this is a little off topic.. What's with all these 'nod' tags all of a sudden?
1. Re:nod? by Anonymous Coward · 2008-09-05 03:51 · Score: 0
  
  Obviously it's a prelude to the Tiberium wars.
Objectivism by argent · 2008-09-05 04:14 · Score: 4, Funny

Maybe they could call it Objectivism.
Or Atlas.
*shrug*
The Library is the Story by iluvcapra · 2008-09-05 04:29 · Score: 4, Interesting

A reimplementation of the NextStep/Cocoa classes in JavaScript, and extremely close modeling of the Cocoa app development process. The way you write an Objective-J Cappucino application is almost identical to the way you develop an Objective-C Cocoa application.

--
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
1. Re:The Library is the Story by iluvcapra · 2008-09-05 04:34 · Score: 1
  
  Except HTML instead of NIBs
  
  --
  Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
2. Re:The Library is the Story by iluvcapra · 2008-09-05 04:38 · Score: 1
  
  You know what, I'm wrong about that I think. I'm just going to shut up and keep reading.
  
  --
  Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
3. Re:The Library is the Story by H0p313ss · 2008-09-05 04:49 · Score: 1
  
  You know what, I'm wrong about that I think. I'm just going to shut up and keep reading.
  Now where's the fun in that?
  
  --
  XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
4. Re:The Library is the Story by Anonymous Coward · 2008-09-05 04:51 · Score: 0
  
  Personally I'm just happy that the 'CP' prefix to all their classes actually makes more sense than the 'NS' prefix in all Apple's Foundation stuff. Yeah, yeah, I know it comes from Nextstep and all that, but come on, Nextstep has been dead (or at least renamed/evolved) since even before the tech bubble, I think it's time for a refactoring.
5. Re:The Library is the Story by krog · 2008-09-05 05:30 · Score: 1
  
  Keeping the NS in place allows programs from NeXTSTEP to be recompiled on OS X without modification. Win.
  Besides, what do we change it to? 'X' implies the X Window System. 'OSX'? How about what happens when Mac OS 11.0 comes out?
  If it ain't broke...
  
  --
  Cretin - a powerful and flexible CD reencoder
6. Re:The Library is the Story by 3dr · 2008-09-05 06:06 · Score: 1
  
  OS X + 1 = OS XI
  I can't wait for it to rival Rocky or the Super Bowl.
7. Re:The Library is the Story by abigor · 2008-09-05 06:44 · Score: 1
  
  It kind of is "broke". The only reason to have initials prefixing class names is because Objective-C doesn't support namespaces - or at least it didn't the last time I fooled around with it.
8. Re:The Library is the Story by tyrione · 2008-09-05 10:36 · Score: 1
  
  C++ doesn't support delegates isn't a dynamically typed run-time, blah, blah, blah.
9. Re:The Library is the Story by iluvcapra · 2008-09-05 12:47 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  As an ObjC junkie, i must assent that the lack of namespaces is a major fail, and a lot of us are still scratching our heads about why Apple didn't add them in ObJC 2.0 (particularly if they were taking the time to add godforsaken "attribute" dot-notation).
  
  --
  Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
Just what we need... by SnT2k · 2008-09-05 04:51 · Score: 1

You know what they say: everything could be solved by adding another layer of abstraction...

Oh and coffee too.
1. Re:Just what we need... by jonadab · 2008-09-05 21:54 · Score: 1
  
  > You know what they say: everything could be solved by adding another layer of abstraction...
  
  Ah, well, in that case, maybe someone should be working on implementing a Perl interpreter in Objective-J...
  
  --
  Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
Is it just me... by brassmaster · 2008-09-05 05:34 · Score: 1

...or would a right-click context menu not complete 280's otherwise very useful Slides program?
1. Re:Is it just me... by Anonymous Coward · 2008-09-05 06:46 · Score: 0
  
  It's just you. Web pages that pre-empt the browser's right click menu make baby jeebus cry. And ceiling cat masturbate, I think...
Leave GIMP out of this. by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · 2008-09-05 06:16 · Score: 1

GIMP is usable now. The older interface was a mess, but its not as bad anymore. I'm not sure when that changed like with version 2.0 maybe? Take a look at cinepaint ( the fork of gimp for movie editing formally know as FilmGIMP) it has the older interface. Its not even remotely usable.

But everything else you mentioned holds true. Or at least it seems as if it could.

--
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
1. Re:Leave GIMP out of this. by H0p313ss · 2008-09-05 06:50 · Score: 1
  
  GIMP is usable now
  As a discriminating individual perhaps I can interest you the first part of our fascinating lecture series on the J language?
  
  --
  XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
2. Re:Leave GIMP out of this. by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · 2008-09-05 07:20 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know. Maybe I'll try J 2.0 if they add layers. For what its worth Gimp has its next generation engine available with an even better command line only interface. No more messy graphical controls to manipulate images with. Me, I wish they'd integrate it with a hex editor.
  
  --
  Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.