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 Release 4.3
Late-breaking news: Self now runs under Intel-based Macintoshes (as well as PowerPC-based and SPARC™-based systems), though it does not yet run on Windows or Linux. Additionally, the original Self user interface (UI1) has been resurrected, although its cartoon-animation techniques have not yet been incorporated into the default Self user interface (UI2). See the included release notes for a full list of changes. Downloading: If you want to run Self 4.3, download and unpack one of the following:
See the release notes for directions on how to run Self. (We're hoping that the procedure is fairly self-explanatory, though. If it's not, please contact us!) If you also want to work on the Self virtual machine (most users will not want to do this), you will need to download one of the above packages, and you will also need one of the following:
What Self is: Self is a prototype-based dynamic object-oriented programming language, environment, and virtual machine centered around the principles of simplicity, uniformity, concreteness, and liveness. It was developed by the Self Group at Sun Microsystems Laboratories, Inc. and Stanford University. Although Self is no longer an official project at Sun Microsystems Laboratories, we have seen many of Self's innovations adopted. The Morphic GUI framework has been incorporated into Squeak, and the virtual machine ideas provided the initial inspiration for the Java™ HotSpot™ performance engine. However, the language and especially the programming environment still provide a unique experience. We have decided to do a new release because we have ported the virtual machine to the x86 architecture, so that it can run on the new Intel-based Macintosh computers (Mac Mini, MacBook, iMac). The system is far from polished, but we have used Self on Mac OS X to do many hours of work on G4 Powerbooks and on the new Intel-based Macs. Although our code is completely independent of theirs, we would be remiss if we did not mention Gordon Cichon and Harald Gliebe, who have also done an x86 port of Self. Their port runs on both Linux and Windows (which ours does not, yet - we would be thrilled if some kind soul were to port this latest version of Self to either of those platforms). We hope that you will enjoy the chance to experience a different form of object-oriented programming. Support: If you want to discuss Self with other interested people, there is a mailing list at self-interest@egroups.com. We would like to thank Jecel Assumpcao Jr for investing the time and effort to deeply understand the Self system, and furthermore for his help in explaining Self to many folks on the Self mailing list. Jecel also hosts the Self Swiki. For information on the programming environment (essentially unchanged for Self 4.3), please refer to the Web page on Self 4.0.
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