REBOL News Archive
This is an archive of older REBOL news.
2007-2010
We no longer post news messages to this page. Instead, we post notices on our the blog feed.
An interview with Carl Sassenrath
A historical perspective to celebrate the 1000th article of Obligement online magazine.
2006
SoftInnov's Cheyenne Web Server
Cheyenne is a full-featured, high-performance, Apache-class web server built entirely in REBOL. It is fast, powerful, and amazingly small.
REBOL Web Browser Plugin Updated
The web browser plugin module for REBOL/View 1.3.2 has been released as beta 6. You can now use all the new features found in 1.3.2, including great new draw commands. A test version for Firefox and Mozilla browsers is also available.
REBOL 3.0 is an entirely new REBOL that is being rebuilt from the ground up using many of the insights we have gained over the last eight years of REBOL usage.
2005
Includes new features and fixes.
REBOL Developers Conference 2005
To be held this year in Treviglio, Italy, a few kilometers from Milan. Conference begins September 30th, but activities start September 26th.
Hundreds of improvements and new features.
REBOL Readies Lightweight Network Services
New technology advances beyond web services.
New Tutorial: A REBOL Web BBS (Message Board)
This tutorial provides an example of how to build a simple web-based bulletin board (message board) that runs as a REBOL CGI program. It's purpose is to give new users a better idea of how to write more substantial types of programs using REBOL.
Context-dependent vs. Context-independent Computer Languages
Most computing languages are context-independent, but our natural human languages, as well as REBOL, are context-dependent. How does that make REBOL more powerful?
REBOL to Open Source Selected Modules
To allow REBOL Technologies to focus on the core components of the REBOL language, C source code will be made available to developers for a variety of interfaces including console, windowing, graphics, fonts, event handling, time/timing, file access, networking, and more.
2004
Tech-Note: REBOL Asynchronous Network Ports
New releases of REBOL will support new modes of operation to allow developers to make their networked applications more asynchronous.
REBOL Collaboration 2004 a Big Success
"The spirit and enthusiasm of REBOLers exceeded our dreams. Representatives from all 7 continents met (really!), refining the new world order of distributed, messaging-based social computing, and having a blast!" -Steve Shireman
Development and Complexity Laboratory in Paris, France announces a challenge to all the programmers, with an aim of promoting qualities of Rebol programming language for professional distributed applications.
To more efficiently communicate with developers, Carl Sassenrath, REBOL's inventor and founder will begin a daily blog covering a range of topics related to REBOL and its technology.
New Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Features
Future versions of REBOL graphics products will support new modes of drawing based on the AGG library from Antigrain.com.
REBOL Collaboration 2004, Keeping IT Simple with the X Internet
An international REBOL conference to be held September 23-25 in Davis, California. REBOL Collaboration 2004 addresses themes such as X Business strategies, efficiency in a company, new forms of assessment in education, the effects of real time collaboration in an organization, and the practical problems of X Internet implementation.
Now REBOL applications can run within a standard web browser window.
2003
REBOL/Core, SDK, Command, & SDK/Command 2.5.6
The latest professional versions of REBOL have been released. Refer to SDK and Command documentation for more information.
Interview with Carl Sassenrath
Answers questions about history of Amiga OS and REBOL.
REBOL/View Desktop Now Open Source
For developers to help shape the future of the REBOL/View Desktop.
Creating and Processing Web Forms
A tutorial for new users. The second article in the REBOL CGI series.
Sassenrath Discusses New Internet Technology at Humboldt State University
"Why the Web Worked and What's Next?" includes insights into collaborative systems and the semantic exchange of information across the Internet.
The first in a new series of REBOL articles is released.
First official REBOL/Core release since 2.5.0 and also adds support for Mac OS X.
Brings REBOL/View, SDK, Command, and IOS along with 1000's of apps to the Macintosh.
2002
Developers compete to create the best one-liner scripts - REBOL Haiku.
Developers describe what program editors they prefer for writing REBOL code.
REBOL Developer News - Nov 2002
A new SDK for developers plus changes in REBOL/Core, /View, new products /Base and /Face. Also: VID Enhancement Project, REBOL Library 2.0, new Feedback system, and educational support.
The REBOL IOS Distributed Filesystem
By James Esch. "The X-Internet is an emerging peer-to-peer network model that works by distributing executable programs, rather than web pages."
REBOL Internet OS Nominated for a Webby!
REBOL is honored with the international online community's top accolade. Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as a celebration of "sites that pave important paths to the Internet's next phase," The Webby Awards are determined by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences.
REBOL in PricewaterhouseCoopers Forecast
The Significant Trends in Software section of PwC Technology Forecast 2002-2004 lists REBOL as part of a new trend that improves the real-time visibility of enterprise business processes.
REBOL: An OS for the Internet?
"REBOL/IOS allows the creation of a community that shares documents and applications. IOS is a product loaded with functionality but, as always, it is incredibly lightweight. It is the culmination of the concepts of REBOL: the rebirth of an Internet that is alive, interactive, and dynamic." (Available in print only.)
When a Language Becomes a Platform
"REBOL is exciting. In several respects it points to a different future for application development than the large hierarchical programming systems like Microsoft's .Net, or Sun's Java. It extends the HTML browser metaphor to a mode where applications can reside across many different systems, yet stay very lightweight and flexible."
Georges Tarbouriech of LinuxFocus test drives REBOL IOS. "IOS is so ahead, while keeping things simple, that it becomes difficult to explain all its advantages."
"Poised to take the Internet beyond just surfing and browsing, a trend known as the X Internet stands to be the next wave of connectivity."
REBOL and Morpheus Join Forces
"REBOL Technologies continues to shape the future of the Internet. Over the last few years, REBOL Technologies has been quietly building up a serious reputation for delivering services that are helping to shape the way people use not only the Internet, but computer technology in general."; www.digitalmagazine.co.uk
2001
An excellent in-depth book about REBOL written in French. By Olivier Auverlot.
REBOL and Morpheus join forces.
StreamCast, makers of Morpheus and next generation peer-to-peer content distribution networks, will base Morpheus 2.0 on REBOL's X Internet operating system (IOS) technology to provide interactive programmable content to more than 30 million users by the end of the year. More...
Interview: Carl Sassenrath on REBOL.
Eugenia Loli-Queru asks Carl about REBOL/IOS, the X Internet, and its relationship to other technologies. More...
REBOL Technologies, makers of real-time collaboration and messaging software, today announced the release of its premier Internet Operating System platform, IOS Express 1.0. The product, to ship later this month, introduces an affordable way to provide highly secure peer-to-peer collaborative processes and information sharing within any organization. More...
ABC News talks to REBOL founder, Carl Sassenrath, about the X-Internet.
REBOL/Express Coming Soon...
REBOL/Express expands on the View and Command products to help businesses, organizations, and developers become more efficient and agile by establishing direct, collaborative, and responsive environments that connect employees, preferred customers, key suppliers, and other essential partners. In REBOL/Express, data and applications flow automatically between users over a secure and authenticated connection. Express allows teams to work together in real time to share ideas, plot strategies, organize resources, coordinate timelines, review financials, revise ad copy, and edit spreadsheets from nearly any type of computer anywhere in the world.
REBOL/View 1.2.1 Released
Minor fixes for desktop icon drawing, HTTP post length errors, load/markup and a few other bugs. The Apple Macintosh joins the list of supported REBOL/View platforms.
REBOL/View Plug-in for Web Browsers
REBOL has released its first test version of a plug-in module for Internet Explorer and Netscape web browsers. The plug-in allows REBOL applications to be launched directly from the browser using ordinary web links. In addition, web pages can be easily created that automatically download and install REBOL/View (with certificates for security).
REBOL/Express Ships as Beta
REBOL/Express, our collaborative platform for distributed Internet applications, was put into full operation at a major Silicon Valley chip manufacturer last week. The system, which has been in pilot use for three months, allows engineers to interactively display a wide range of charts, graphs, and tables; efficiently drill-down into critical, real-time chip manufacturing data; collaborate projects and exchange data and documents between remote foundries; and host discussion threads between managers and engineers around the globe instantly and without the noise and distraction of email.
The ultimate REBOL and the perfect partner for lightweight distributed computing. REBOL/Command allows you to interface with other programs, legacy systems, and libraries. You can use C, C++, and other languages to provide extended functions within the REBOL framework. REBOL/Command runs on 30 platforms.
Eight, Inc. and REBOL Technologies announce the formation of REBOL Consulting, LLC.
REBOL Technologies and Eight, Inc. announce the formation of REBOL Consulting LLC, a joint venture that will provide custom software development and technical support services for companies looking to use REBOL's distributed application platform.
REBOL/View 1.1 Released - A New Era of Distributed Internet Applications Begins
The REBOL/View Internet software technology launches the next generation platform for distributed Internet applications. REBOL/View enables everyone, regardless of budget or staff size, to rapidly create and deploy custom network applications for collaborative, groupware, and peer-to-peer purposes.
The Internet Developer Technology Group
REBOL was the hot topic at The Internet Developer / Technology Group at Netscape. View the presentation (converted to HTML from REBOL).
REBOL/View 1.0 builds on the ease, flexibility, and power of the REBOL distributed computing core to launch a new era of interactive Internet applications.
REBOL/Core 2.5 offers IMAP and APOP protocols, improved hash and list functions, file and network mode query and controls, asynchronous port operations, powerful sort features, crypto and hashed checksums, new load and mold features, and more.
REBOL/Core 2.5 offers IMAP and APOP protocols, improved hash and list functions, file and network mode query and controls, asynchronous port operations, powerful sort features, crypto and hashed checksums, new load and mold features, and more.
(Regarding REBOL/Command) "I found the ODBC database access worked quite well, as did the DLL and command access. Given its CGI support, REBOL/Command could be a good language for building a database-driven website." --Martin Heller, Mr. Computer Language Person
2000
REBOL, Carl Sassenrath's "New" Language: It Is Deeper Than It Appears
"REBOL/View contains all of REBOL/Core plus VID...Much more complicated layouts are possible, including full-blown GUI applications. To see how simple the game (Minesweeper) was to implement, go back to Sites and Demos and click on "View source first" before clicking on Minesweeper Game. Of course, the whole demo application was built in REBOL." --Martin Heller, Mr. Computer Language Person
REBOL Technologies Announces Free Re-distribution of REBOL/Core
Software developers can now freely distribute their REBOL/Core applications with REBOL/Core and can also distribute encapsulated REBOL/Core applications using the newly released REBOL/Command Runtime application.
"The free REBOL programming language is going commercial, with a new edition from REBOL Technologies Inc. that offers access to external libraries, calling shell commands, external applications and database connectivity through ODBC." --Alan Zeichick
REBOL Technologies Releases Runtime Version of REBOL/Command
REBOL Technologies today announced the availability of REBOL/Command Runtime 1.0, an Internet software package that allows developers to create and deploy encapsulated REBOL applications.
--REBOL Technologies
"Technically, then, REBOL is a hit: it has happy users, enough vitality to grow according to their needs, plenty of real-life applications, an interesting syntax, and even its own magazine, REBOL Forces. But is it sustainable?" --Cameron Laird and Kathryn Soraiz
"Making a REBOL Shell Script to turn a REBOL script into a general shell script, place the following "interpreter" line at the top of the script..." --Jeff Kreis
REBOL Technologies Releases REBOL/Command
REBOL Technologies today announced the availability of REBOL/Command 1.0, a commercial extension to its leading Internet application development product REBOL/Core 2.3. --REBOL Technologies
"...talking about versatility and compactness, Rebol is a model. We could say you can do just everything with Rebol. The limit doesn't come from the language but from your imagination." --Georges Tarbouriech
Inside the REBOL Scripting Language
"The Relative Expression-Based Object Language (REBOL) was designed to make it easier to communicate between computers, or between people and computers, using context-dependent sublanguages. (Additional resources include rebol.txt listings)." --Carl Sassenrath
"When rebuilding his web sites, Michael [???Swaine] in news.txt looked at a number of scripting languages -- and settled on REBOL. He found it easier to use than many other scripting tools, and the kinds of tasks it makes easy are those involving Internet programming..." --Michael Swaine
1999
"One of the best aspects of REBOL is that it is supported on over 35 platforms, with support for 50 or more platforms expected by the end of the year. One of those platforms, fortunately, is the AS/400...With the strength of REBOL as cross-platform support, REBOL scripts will run exactly the same way on the AS/400 as they do on any other platform, so you can start REBOL programming before the final release of the AS/400 version..." --Chuck Lundgren
REBOL is to Revolutionize the Internet
"Sassenrath predicts a great future, particularly with the application of wireless communication equipment. REBOL already performs well in areas which Microsoft might regard as dangerous to them. "Microsoft is continuously monitoring our site", says the REBOL chief. "Our development threatens the Empire and also Java."
REBOL Crowned 'Head of the Herd'
"Whether you're a seasoned JavaScript, VBScript and PERL programming guru, or just a neophyte wanting to get their feet wet, then perhaps you should take a look at REBOL...Being a programming tool, REBOL doesn't get rated, but if it did, it would be worth an entire herd!" --Tucows Programmer Resources
A REBOL IncursionIt's not a scripting language, not a programming language -- and not a new Amiga, either. Or is it?
"Don't be fooled by people who say that Carl Sassenrath's new project is "just a scripting language." In reality, the chief architect of the AmigaOS is after nothing less than your cell phone, your Java-enabled toaster, and your Linux box in his quest to make your operating system irrelevant in the new world of instant messaging." --Nora Mikes
Computer, Simply Spoken: Ukiah Man's New Language 'Visionary'
"The new REBOL version has generated interest throughout the computer industry, drawing praise in industry journals and being cited by some reviewers as a possible major breakthrough in programming languages." --Mike Geniella
"We see three current hardware imperatives gathering IT talent: wireless networking, embedded computing (or appliances), and distributed (especially clustered) computing. REBOL has stories to tell about all three of these. It's particularly interesting to see how well REBOL is positioned to serve in networked appliances, especially wireless ones." --Cameron Laird and Katherine Soraiz
Scripting Language for the Next Century
"REBOL introduces the concept of a messaging language, which puts it in the same category with other natural languages like English. While scripting languages like Tcl/Tk, PERL and Python are easier than standard programming languages like Java, REBOL beats all of them taking simplicity as a key virtue in a complex programming environments. REBOL is probably the best tool to glue together components of your complex, distributed AI applications...So, forget complex shell scripts or CGI programs, and make simple things simple to do." -- Denis Susac
"With REBOL, programming the computer is more about communicating rather than commanding. You can write REBOL scripts in minutes, and use them across no less than 30 different platforms. Can your favourite programming language do that?" --Mahesh Shantaram
Carl Sassenrath, Inventor of REBOL Language: An Exclusive Interview
"I cannot see languages like C++, Java, or PERL taking us to the stars. Object-oriented programming is not the answer. I can truly say this because I've been involved in object-oriented programming since the beginning. It does not increase productivity. It does not give better results. The answer to our problems rests in the natural characteristics of language and expression, not in objects." --Interview by Srikant Sreenivasan
Silicon Valley Refugees Develop New Programming Language
"Carl Sassenrath practically owned the Silicon Valley. A brilliant programmer whose computer codes kept systems running at Apple Computer Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., he had his choice of hot jobs at hot companies..." --Martha Mendoza, AP Business Writer
REBOL.com wins 'Link of the Week' Award
"REBOL is a new web-authoring language, considered a universal scripting language because it can be used with more than 50 different system platforms."
Programming for Dummies: English-like Computer Language Dares to Unshackle Users from Brahmanism of Programmers
"Yet another cool feature is that the REBOL code is cross-platform. REBOL is today available on more than 30 platforms. So, Java is not the only one that allows you to write once and run anywhere. Again, Java is not as easy to learn and code in. Another pleasant surprise is the small size of the REBOL interpreter." --Srikant Sreenivasan
What's the Cause If You're Without REBOL?
"REBOL (pronounced REB-el) stands for Relative Expression-Based Object Language. It's a programming language similar to PERL, but lighter-weight and extremely cross-platform capable. Developers and hobbyists alike will enjoy the straightforward simplicity of this relatively new language." --Tina Gasperson
If You Plan to Evolt, Join the REBOLs
"While doing some research recently, I stumbled upon something that, as a web developer and Perl programmer, nearly flattened me, at the very least it required me to pick my jaw up off the floor. That something was REBOL." --WCB4
REBOL Might Be the Language for the Rest of Us
"For those of you who have mastered Perl, Python, Javascript and others, I tip my hat. You impress me the same way folks who can speak five languages impress me. I speak one and a half languages and couldn't write a line of Perl if my life depended on it. But the first time I looked at a line of REBOL code, I knew what it meant." --Derrick Story
"Does the world really need 'yet another programming language'? ...It's tough: productivity seems to come from power, and power seems to lead to complexity. But now and then we see an example of a product or a technology or an insight that makes simplicity and productivity turn out to be two sides of the same coin. And when greater productivity can be bought with less complexity, that's a breakthrough. It's just possible that the REBOL model contains the seeds of such a breakthrough." --Michael Swaine
Osborne/McGraw-Hill Partners with REBOL Technologies to Publish Official REBOL Press
According to Brandon Nordin, Vice President and Group Publisher for Osborne/McGraw-Hill, "By working closely with REBOL Technologies' product development and user support groups, REBOL Press will become the ideal resource for all levels of developers using the product. REBOL Press will also allow Osborne to become part of the fast-emerging REBOL marketplace and the growing enthusiasm associated with it." McGraw-Hill and its subsidiary, Standard and Poors, were early users of REBOL.
Beyond Cool -- It's Revolutionary!
"We think that REBOL represents a really cool opportunity to 'code once-run anywhere,' an opportunity many of us geeks (and we use that term in the nicest possible way) have been looking for. Go for it and get that special tingly feeling only a Cool Tool can give you."
''Script Junkie'' Column: REBOL Bots
"Over the past two decades, my search for the perfect scripting language led me to work with companies such as HP, Amiga, and Apple.In that time, I investigated more than 50 different languages, from Ada to C, from Pascal to Lisp. I wanted a language that was very simple and readable with almost no syntax, yet very flexible with a wide degree of expressive freedom. It needed to allow a script to run on a great number of platforms without modification, have an extensive set of built-in data types that felt natural to humans, and smoothly support all of the standard network protocols, such as HTTP, FTP, POP, SMTP, NNTP, time, finger, whois, and more. And finally, so that I could use it everywhere, I wanted the entire package to be small (less than 200KB) with no installation hassle -- just copy it and run. More than anything else, I wanted a language that was friendly, usable, and highly productive....The result of this quest became the Relative Expression-Based Object Language (REBOL, pronounced REB-el), which was released free of charge late last year. I call REBOL a messaging language, because it's intended to be used in the same way as English: for communications, not just algorithms. It works equally well for expressing data as well as code. This aspect is its greatest strength; it's meant to offer a better approach to the exchange and interpretation of information among people, computers, and application software." --Carl Sassenrath
Lesson One: Working with a Scripting/Messaging Language
(Vol. 14 #5 -Summer, 1999) Lesson Two: Adding to Your Script (Vol. 14 #8 - Fall, 1999) Lesson Three: Completing Your Script! (Vol. 14 #9 - Fall, 1999) --by Bohdan Lechnowsky, Technical Support/Quality Assurance, REBOL Technologies
"Offering small size yet real power, a minimal syntax, and productivity, REBOL is a good addition to the crowded field of scripting languages. With a gentle learning curve and a growing user community, REBOL has the potential to become a viable choice for Web developers." --Steve Arrants
Language Helps in Pushing Web Content
"A recently released scripting language could make it easier to push large amounts of content to multiple Web sites. The language, REBOL, was created by REBOL Technologies (Ukiah, Calif.) and integrates code and data into network messages. REBOL's creators say it solves distributed computing tasks better than other languages (such as Perl) because it has built-in networking protocols, including HTTP, FTP, SMTP, POP, and NNTP." --Lee Bruno and Mary Jander
REBOL with a Context
"So what is REBOL like to program with? Well, pretty amazing, as it offers simple constructs for doing complex things." --Mark Gibbs
The New REBOL Force
"Its common lexicon is independent of any particular country, and the language is so simple even novice users can learn its fundamentals through a short 10-step introduction and become productive within hours." --Skip Press
REBOL: New, Simple, Yet Powerful
"REBOL offers an environment based on simplicity, yet it is flexible and powerful." --Piroz Mohseni
New Scripting Language Runs Unmodified on 30 Platforms
"REBOL.com has built-in network support for common Internet protocols, comes in a compact size of 150 kbytes, and includes an XML parser and direct access to network news transfer protocol." --Amber Howle
REBOL 2.1 Scripting Language Practically Universal
"The intuitive REBOL is designed for developers and sysadmins who need simple solutions for such daily networking tasks as CGI serving, e-mail processing, Internet searching, file transfer, newsgroup, and automated Web page retrieval." --Kane Scarlett
"If you want to experience both the Web and Internet programming from a different perspective, certainly give REBOL a try. You'll find out that some of the functions that take a long time to program in other languages are very straightforward in REBOL. That alone should be a good reason to try REBOL in your next application. " --Piroz Mohseni
New REBOL Messaging Language Aimed at Net Users
"Most languages are good at commands and expressions for executing algorithms, but less good at dealing with data and relationships. Sassenrath came up with the concept of dialects, a sub-language which can be tailored for a particular domain." --John Abbott