Polyglot programming

It is now rare for a non-trivial application to use just one programming language. (Src: polyglotprogramming.com)

It would be much cooler if this wasn't mostly due to combinations like Java (or other back-end language) + XML (for configuration) + HTML (for presentation) + Javascript (for interactivity). This is more a historical accident rather than a conscious decision.

But still, if it opens up the road to real combination of programming languages (Java + Prolog has been on my wish list many times), then all the better.

More structured editors

The following two links are related to my Skribler project.
The first shows the work of Kirill Osenkov on a structured editor for C# (though not limited to C#). The videos are especially nice to watch, as they show some of the benefits of going for structured editors. What I'm missing here is an idea of how easy it would be to set up additional languages with this editor.
The second link is for Citrus which is a tool/programming language for setting up structured editors. There is video of it in action here. Unfortunately the tool is not publicly available.
Makes me feel that I should get back to work on Skribler...

TerraPower

This not so entertaining video actually shows one of the most promising solution to the energy crisis.

The TerraPower Traveling Wave Reactor is mainly interesting for two reasons. One is that it emits no CO2 while in operation. Second is that it actually uses up the nuclear garbage of classic reactors. Imagine getting all that nuclear energy without getting stuck with the waste! Now that's something to look forward to!

I must admit that it's Bill Gates who's backing and promoting this project. But if he can actually help make this work, I will forgive him for the many lost weeks/months, bad moods and huge amounts of cursing I had due to Microsoft products. :-)

Starcraft

My favourite sport to watch these days ? Jup: Starcraft.

If you want to get a glimpse of how deep Stracraft goes, check out the Day[9] Dailies. Here is an analysis of Light vs Rarity on Heartbreak Ridge:

striderdoom on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

If you want something more light-hearted then DiggitySC is the guy to watch, in my opinion. He keeps it entertaining and exciting, but you still get to see the good stuff. Also, he has some of the very first commentaries up on Starcraft 2!

Either beats what's on TV most days.

Procedurally generated galaxy

The above is a procedurally generated galaxy made up of about 7000 stars (not quite the same number as the real one, I know). It's about fifty lines of Processing code, based on a light version of the idea behind Ysaneya's Galaxy.

Edit: It being the day it is, here is a very special galaxy for the girl who has managed not to get bored with me in close to seven years:

Panda3D: Big Oops

This just bit me. If you're going to try out Panda3D on a mac, you have now been warned.

Symptoms include not being able to start up eclipse anymore. It complained about not finding Java on my path, where things reported just fine in a terminal. Turns out there are two paths in Mac OS X: one for the terminal and one for GUI apps. The first one is your classis unix $PATH, the second is found in ~/.MacOSX/environment.plist. Live and learn, I guess.

After this interruption, back to my regular programming (pun intended).

Wacky Idea

I found this wacky idea on Abstract Heresies. If you take it one step further, namely storing the syntax tree rather than the text, you basically end up with what I want for Skribler. The language then ends up, as Jrm puts it, as an API on the syntax tree.