[Vala] [ANNOUNCE] Gtkaml 0.6 beta 1 - Markup language for Vala

[Vlad Grecescu <b100dian gmail com>]

Hello,
We are proud to announce the beta 0.6 version of Gtkaml with the new Gtkon
syntax.

This beta release includes a new way of interaction with the Vala compiler
that enables future developments.

There should be *no* visible differences compared to 0.4.3's functionality
other than:
  * compatibility with Vala 0.12/0.14/0.15
  * source files' order from command line is not relevant anymore (previous
architectural limitation)
  * support for custom creation methods (the `construct` will still be
generated by gtkaml)

================

What is it?

Gtkaml is a markup language based on Vala which lets you create Gtk+
composite widgets through concise XML:

<HBox homogeneous="false">
   <Label label="_Hello" with-mnemonic="true" expand="false" fill="false"/>
   <Entry g:public="my_entry" text="World! "/>
</HBox>

Gtkon is an object notation alternative to the XML syntax, contributed
by pancake at nopcode.org:

HBox !homogeneous {
 Label with-mnemonic label="_Hello" !expand !fill;
 Entry $my_entry text="World!";
}

More information on the Gtkon syntax is available here [2] and in the
tests and examples gtkaml comes with.


Features:
 * compact XML syntax for describing composite Gtk widgets
 * Gtkon syntax for JSON-like sources
 * code 'islands' (written in Vala) - for signal handling and other
code in your widget class (so you don't modify the generated code
ever)
 * you don't depend on gtkaml at run-time
 * much more readable than the usual UI boilerplate (e.g. you don't
need to worry about temporary variables, or ever write hundreds of
lines of code)
 * works with any library that has a .vapi file, not just Gtk+
(composition methods can be specified in the *.implicits file)

Full release notes: http://code.google.com/p/gtkaml/wiki/ReleaseNotes
Downloads: http://code.google.com/p/gtkaml/downloads/list

[1] Examples: http://code.google.com/p/gtkaml/wiki/Example
[2] Gtkon http://code.google.com/p/gtkaml/wiki/Gtkon