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REBOL/Core Feature Overview
1. General Features
1.1. Machine and System Independent
Programs run on more than 40 platforms without modification. Programs
that you create on your PC will run on your Windows/CE portable, your graphic artist's Macintosh, your system administrator's
Linux, your web site's Sun Solaris, and dozens of other platforms.
1.2. Integrated Networking
REBOL comes with several common Internet protocols built-in. No includes,
imports, or special libraries are needed. Protocols include HTTP, FTP, SMTP, POP, APOP, IMAP, NNTP, Finger, Daytime
and more. You can also roll your own with our TCP and UDP support.
1.3. Rich Set of Built-in Datatypes
In addition to the datatypes found in most languages, REBOL can also
express money, times, dates, words, tags, logic, lists, hashes, tuples, XY pairs, and many other datatypes. These
are built-in. No other REBOL modules or libraries are required. This eliminates the "run anywhere but you
don't have everything you need" syndrome and provides a high level of consistency between all platforms.
1.4. Domain Specific Dialecting
Doctors express their ideas in medical terms, stockbrokers in trade terms,
and quarterbacks in football terms. Why? Because it's more efficient and productive. That's the benefit of dialecting.
Dialecting is the ability to create sub-languages that provide you with extra leverage and productivity by expressing
your solutions in terms that are best suited to your purpose. As an example, check out REBOL/View's Visual Interface
Dialect.
1.5. Multi-level Sandboxes
Several levels of operational security are built-in. The default is a
"safe" mode, where absolutely no files can be written to or deleted from your system without your permission.
You can adjust the security to your level of comfort and the trust you place in the script you are running.
1.6. Clean Syntax
REBOL is intended to be read by ordinary humans. The language is consistent
and free from unnecessary punctuation. Datatypes such as dates, times, money, URLS, email, TCP addresses, are written
exactly how you would expect. No special "constructor" syntax is required.
1.7. Compression Built-in
You can compress and decompress text and binary files directly from the
language, providing you greater efficiency in data transfer.
1.8. Small Program Footprint
REBOL downloads from the net in seconds, or fits on a floppy with room
to spare for your scripts. On most platforms the REBOL system is less than 250 KB in size... but, don't underestimate
it! Every one of those bytes is packed with substantial power.
1.9. Minimal Installation
Just run it. Want to give it to a friend? Just copy the program file
to a floppy and pass it along.
2. Advanced Technical Features
- A parser dialect provides a direct method of grammar specification for
dialecting as well as for pattern matching.
- The language allows embedded documentation directly in the interfaces
of functions and the headers of scripts. The documentation travels with your program, and meta functions like Help
and library archiving can make use of the info.
- The language is a symbolic. This allows words to be used to represent
meaning in any data structure or data base.
- It is highly reflective. Programs can easily read and modify other programs.
In fact, REBOL is its own meta-language.
- Functions are highly polymorphic. For instance, you can add not only
numbers, but also times, dates, tuples, money, and xy-pairs.
- Refinement paths provides generic namespace navigation.
- Definitional scoping allows definition-based name binding on demand.
- Prototype-based objects allow cloning, extending, and one-of-a-kind
creation.
- Full exception handling for error recovery.
- Auto-expanding arrays (series) for lists, strings, binary, etc.
- Automatic storage management for simpler programs.
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