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simkim - embeddable scripting language
I came across a project called simkin today that is really interesting. For a demonstration, go here. Reminds you of XUL, doesn't it? Only it uses XML files to allow an easy way to customise your application. XML isn't the only way that's available, as the script can be stored in something called a TreeNode file or in a database. What's more, it can be used in MIDP (see here), and it uses kXML, a lightweight XML parser that I'm also using for my current project.
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Code block and music
Well I had code block today, believe it or not. It's that state of mind where you can't make much (or any) progress in your development - a highly frustrating exercise.
To sooth my troubled mind, I got on a bus (I wasn't sure if it'd take me to where I wanted to go, but I just hopped on) and went alone to buy myself the Third Eye Blind album (Out of Vein) that I've been wanting to get for so long (well, at least since it's release last week, it felt like a long time). I'm a big Third Eye Blind fan - still listen to their very first album ever so often, Third Eye Blind. That's a tough album to live up to, but from what I've heard so far of Out of Vein, they're doing fine.
I also got No! from They Might Be Giants (they sang the theme song on Malcolm in the Middle, Boss of Me). They make the funniest and weirdest songs.
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CM4 uses XML-based skinning
Championship Manager 4, the newest installation in the Championship Manager series of football management simulation games, uses XML-based skinning. It may be old news, CM4 being released 2 or 3 months ago, but I didn't realise that until I checked out the sources for some CM4 skins, and much to my surprise, the only files I saw were XML files and images. Now not only is that very cool, it is also reassuring that game developers are taking the XML-based UI design paradigm seriously.
You can get CM4 skins from cmskins.com.
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Interesting threads and XUL article at SitePoint
There're some interesting threads over at SitePoint Forums:
Java or .NET -- What to Learn??
Head-to-Head: PHP vs. ASP.NETAlso, Harry Fuecks from phpPatterns() has recently written an article on XUL entitled Introducing XUL - The ‘Net’s Biggest Secret: Part 1 for SitePoint. Nice introductory article, but he does seem to make it (XUL programming) more difficult than it actually is by involving the PHP bit.
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Thinlet
Thinlet is a Java GUI toolkit that I've been using in my recent project. It allows you to design the view of your applications using a simple XML format (much like XUL), thereby enforcing clean separation of view and controller, a common fallacy in Swing-based or AWT-based programs (not saying it can't be done, but it is often too easy to mush your view and controller together). Best of all, it works on a PersonalJava environment which is the target platform for my application, so there won't be problems porting it into PDAs. There is limited functionality, though to be sure, the developers are actively implementing new widgets and functionality upon user requests. For example, automatic sorting of lists and popup (context) menus are already in the latest CVS sources. The developers are also spending time refactoring their design, since Thinlet is basically 1 gargantuan class with 6000+ lines of code. Nevertheless, it's simplicity and portability across even limited platforms is a big factor in applications where it matters.
Check out a demo of Thinlet widgets as well as an Amazon browser (it works - try searching something on it).
Through my search for a suitable XUL or XUL-like toolkit, Luxor XUL and jXUL turned up. jXUL, unfortunately, has seen no developer activity since late 2001, but Luxor XUL seems great, only it depends too much on Java 2 APIs to port easily. I'm not too sure about committing to jXUL in future projects without a good look at the functionality provided, but I'm pretty sure Luxor XUL would be worth more than a look.
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