Rebol, after 8 years of insight, is poised to be rebuild from the ground up.
When the initial news was released by Carl, I was worried.Change is scary. Big Change is very scary. What is the impact on existing scripts?
However, with the recent update on the roadmap and what it mean to be Rebol v3.0, it just become clear that the change is NECESSARY.Rebol cannot continue to exist in its current state.
Rebol 3.0 will improve on its interfaces. That means, more 3rd party stuffs can be integrated into Rebol.
Other goodies include browser plug-in. The debates have always been the browser paradigm is a poor application platform. And this is true even till today where developers rely on Ajax (which is really hacks of some sorts) to make applications ‘rich’.
While the browser is a poor application platform, the browser-web combination makes it an INCREDIBLE delivery or distribution channel.
Today, any major technology is adopted first via the web (through the lens of the browser).
Going back to Rebol 3.0, rebuilding and having open interfaces does not mean Rebol will become bloated.
Carl reinstate his commitment (objectives) to keep Rebol lightweight (under 1Mb).
Software need not be bloated. Big megabytes software is as normal as myths that you live with. Stretch your mind and see it from another point of view ( a different paradigm ), and you will never want to go back (Matrix : the red pill or the blue pill)
Note: Image is from Carl’s DevCon 2004 presentation.
Rebol change my mind in 1998. Today, the folks at Rebol Technologies continues on their beliefs to CREATE THE FUTURE.
And if there is anything worth doing, is to work on a cause that I believe.
Neusteps will be undergoing changes to support this. Watch this space.