The lecture on Thursday was pretty darn cool. One of the highlights was the video of the Sun Self System. It really sparked my imagination.
Basically, it's a programming environment with no edit/run modes. All editing happens in runtime. Objects can be deconstructed and their properties and methods dragged around like so many Legos.
The only problem in my eyes was that it was discontinued in like 1995. I wished there was something like it still. I searched around for keywords that I thought would result in projects in the same vein as Self. And, lo, what was the first hit but Self itself!
Discontinued means something very different in software as compared to hardware.
So, I quickly downloaded the Self OSX binary and installed it. I ran the demo snapshot and it opened an OpenGL window and I was in. It had the same demo used in the video, with gas particles in a tank, bouncing around.
Click for larger image
I played around with the controls a bit, but I couldn't get the hang of it. It's a very different method of programming from what I'm used to.
I don't think I'll ever use it again, but it's a interesting idea. I'm sure it will give me perspective in the future, if I'm tasked to design an interface.
