The Felix project requires people to help test version 1.1.2
release candidate 4 source build. Please go to
http://felix.sourceforge.net
if you're interested in helping. The licence is FFAU (like BSD
or Boost licences). You will need Ocaml 3.08/9 and Python 2.x
plus a C++ compiler to build from source. GNU g++ and MSVC++ are supported
(and we'll add support for any other compiler if there is a volunteer
maintainer).
We also need C++ programmers interested in wrapping their favourite
C and C++ libraries to create and maintain bindings.
Support for SDL, OpenGL and gmp++ is currently provided.
Felix generates 'almost ISO C++', which should compile on most
platforms. The build system is entirely written in Python
and does not require any of the usual build tools
(no make, autoconf or whatever)
What is Felix?
It's a new programming language specifically
designed as an upgrade path from C++, in the same way
as C++ is an upgrade path from C. It preserves both object
and source compatibility with C++, although the mechanism
is different -- Felix replaces the C++ type system and syntax,
and so it is a distinct language in its own right.
Felix features built in garbage collection, first class
functions and procedures, high performance user space
threading, parametric polymorphism, variants, pre-emptive
threading support, and now asynchronous I/O including
support for timers and sockets transparently using the fastest
available demultiplexing technique available on your platform
(i.e. epoll on Linux, kqueue on BSD and OSX, IO completion ports
on Windows)
The scripting harness works much like Python or Perl does:
you just say
flx my/program
and it compiles the program to C++, compiles the C++ to
a shared library, links in all required extra libraries
automatically, and runs your program. In other words
it works like a scripting language but performs like
the best native code binaries.
Although the compiler is fairly mature .. the build system
and async support is brand new so you can expect some
teething problems. If you're into the bleeding edge
and want a high level of abstraction without sacrificing
performance, this product is for you!
--
John Skaller <skaller at users dot sourceforge dot net>
Async P/L, Realtime software consultants
Felix for C/C++ programmers http://felix.sourceforge.net
