The DRAGON CITY home page
                                                            of Brett S Hallett   

                                                        an eclectic mix of "stuff"
                                                  dragoncity@aanet.com.au

Updated Sept 2011


Ruby Programs

I was recently ( 2003) introduced to the Ruby Programming Language, a very powerful , but relatively easy to understand development tool for rapid, and fun, development of programs that are transportable across many Operating System Platforms.

Download my article on developing GUI programs and the QT2FXRUBY program

Go to Ruby

And check out , Spam-B-Gone, a Ruby/FXRuby email visual spam filter program.

Go to Spam-B-Gone

BlackBox Oberon

Download my manuscript ( approx 1.8 mb ) in .PDF format developing_in_blackbox.pdf

which a link to Helmuts Zinn's web page containing many useful Oberon connections and files. Look under 'DragonCity' for the book.

This is my collection of notes, example code, etc I created to "fill in" the gaps not explained by the standard documentation supplied with Blackbox Oberon on how to actually write useful programs. The book is approximately 160 pages and is not complete. But still useful !!
       
It covers Installing, Setup and Interfacing to  MySQL using ODBC  in depth. Writing report programs (including a compete SQL report generator),  writing complete GUI/MySQL systems, etc. It does not cover the more esotric usage of the language, because I have'nt the need to be bothered to work them out. I make no attempt to cover the complete BlackBox Oberon Language.   It does not cover the basic Oberon Syntax, etc, as the readily available documents/reports cover this in great detail.

Blackbox Oberon is a very powerful programming tool and well worth consideration. But I should also advise you that while I really like Blackbox Oberon I have found it lacks certain features that I need for commercial database programming development. Therefore,  I stopped writing the manuscript !

NOTE:  I understand that BB Oberon is now open source as of 2004.

Find more information at : http://www.oberon.ch/

Smalltalk

A general overview  of Smalltalks I have used, plus a link to a book I wrote "Smalltalk for the mere mortals" , because I was fed up with not finding 'stuff' I needed to know to write a Smalltalk program!  (For Visual Works Smalltalk 7.3  - but includes a handly quick reference with example code.

Goto Smalltalk

A page about problems I had with VAST , 'bugs' and misunderstandings with  Smalltalk and its Manuals, etc.

Vast Bugs I've tripped over.

Ada 2005

Why use Ada !? Its so old! and inefficient !! .. etc.  Well actually its not really. Its true that it been around a while , but unlike many classic languages, Ada has been  continually updated and refined and each new version released comes with very comprehensive documentation. Ada 2005 offers many features that put more main stream languages, like C++ & Java, to shame. Not to mention a much better syntax !

After programming for many years in various languages , many not so complete by the way, I was looking around for a language which would cover most of my fairly simple programming needs that did not require me to learn some weird arcane syntax and strange concepts. With a few exceptions Ada seemed to fit this requirment. I came across Ada 2005, almost by accident, having looked into some of my 'old favourite' languages to see how had faired over time. Fortunately Ada 2005 comes with a very nice IDE in GNAT GPS, so even tho I've gone 'back to the future' I ( and you) have an up to date GUI IDE to work with which is nice. I'm developing under Linux and I have no idea how Ada 2005 is under Windows, for example.

Since returning to a classic programming language in Ada 2005, I was not impressed with the general end-user programming books. Too many of the Ada books I researched were pretty much rehashes of the ( very good) Ada Standard Documentation! I'm so over rehashes ! Bookshops the 1980 & 90's were full of rehashed reference material. Rehashes are at best incomplete or full of esoteric stuff you'll never code anyway and in my opinion lazy authorship. What I was looking for was just good old simple complete programing examples using as many of Ada's 2005 language facilities as is "sensible". (What ever that means!)

When you follow the 'goto Ada 2005' link below you can download two chapters from my ( never to be published) book I have written on writing  simple programs Ada 2005. By simple I mean traditional  block structured programs like many of you may have written in Pascal, for example.  Ada's more esoteric features, useful as they might be, are not touched upon.

AWS ( as a program GUI interfacing tool )

One problem with classic languages is that they never had any GUI features. Gui's came much later in languages like Visual Basic & Paradox for Windows, to name just two. Ada 2005 needs 'help' with a GUI and you more or less left with either  a Web Browser or GTK Gui Toolkit. Lack of GUI facilities in modern languages is still a major fault with most. Gui's seem to be put in the "too hard basket" by language developers. Considering a GUI is the normal expected interfacing to programs by most end-users this is most disappointing.

Not withstanding Web Browsers limitations I decided to try using a WEB Browser interface to Ada using the AWS toolkit ( library)  which is written in Ada and naturally interfaces nicely with Ada, but I found AWS's documentation a bit of a mess to follow, so I wrote my own. ( follow goto link below)

Following the link below offer's you the option to download a book extraction & AWSGEN, a Ada code generator written using AdaCore's GNAT-GPS IDE tool.

Using KompoZer you define a HTML Form layout that you wish to use as your program interface, then you execute AWSGEN which reads that HTML file and generates  all the necessary GNAT-GPS program files  to  complete  a working Ada/AWS project framework.

This should compile and execute without syntax errors, but as its a framework it does not actually do anything ! Any Buttons on the form will issue a message when pressed to 'prove' the Web Form is actually functioning. You then add your code to the generated functions that are normally accessed via Button Press by the user on a  Web Browser.

Goto Ada 2005

Murray River Paddlers

A small photo essay of paddle boats currently working out of Echuca, Australia can be found  here : 
 Go to Photos

Model Paddlers

Model radio controlled paddlewheelers has become a recent interest on mine after a friend suggested I make one after he saw one operating at Echuca, the home of Murray River Paddlers. This turned into a very interesting modeling project, whereapon I designed, built and operate a vessel based upon the P.S INDUSTRY using Radio Control (RC) to operate the twin motors driving side paddles  Go to Models

Ettrick Spining Wheels 

If you admire really top quality hand crafted workmanship, I suggest you visit this site of a friend at Ettrick Spinning Wheels 

Go To Ettrick Wheels  


Brett S Hallett