Re: [Vala] Vala++

[Dmitry Golovin <dima golovin in>]

04.04.2017, 15:29, "Al Thomas via vala-list" <vala-list gnome org>:
> >  From: Alessandro Pellizzari <alex amiran it>
> >  Sent: Tuesday, 4 April 2017, 10:27
> >  Subject: Re: [Vala] Vala++
>
> You seem to over talking Rust and under talking Vala.
>
> >  Rust, on the other hand, is a general language, that can be used for
> >  many things: CLI apps, OS kernels, C-compatible libraries, GUI apps,
> >  servers, web apps, etc. etc.
>
> The https://www.rust-lang.org/ website still labels Rust as a "systems
>
> programming language", but going through your list and applying Vala:
>
> CLI apps, for Vala see:
> https://valadoc.org/glib-2.0/GLib.OptionEntry.html - for handling args
>
> https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/Vala/IoChannelsSample - for handling pipes
> https://valadoc.org/curses/Curses.html - although an ncurses binding would
> be good
>
> OS kernels, well that's not a good use of Vala
>
> C-compatible libraries, surprisingly the Vala compiler is mainly in a
> C compatible library called libvala. If you want to write a library in
> Vala then a few tips:
> --hide-internal switch of valac controls symbol visibility with GLib's
> G_GNUC_INTERNAL macro
> Producing a GIR with valac and then using g-ir-compiler allows bindings
> to be produced that can be used in many languages
> There is the beginnings of a tutorial at
>
> https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/Vala/LibraryWriting
>
> GUI apps, hmmm GTK+3 anyone? Vala includes excellent bindings and also
> composite template code generation routines with the use of the
> [GtkTemplate] attribute.
>
> Servers, web apps, etc. :
> [DBus] attribute for code generation
> https://valadoc.org/gio-2.0/GLib.Socket.html
> https://github.com/arteymix/valum/ and importantly work on Vala Server
> Gateway Interface (VSGI)
> http://www.ambitionframework.org/
> Maybe all of these don't fit with your needs, but there is an active Vala
>
> community and I hope these examples have broadened your outlook a little.
>
> >  Bacause of this, the ecosystem is many times bigger, so it's easier to
> >  find skilled devs, but also crates (linkable libraries), bindings for
>
> >  current libraries, etc.
>
> There are certainly more resources put in to Rust. Remember it is sponsored
> by Mozilla. There is a core team:
> https://www.rust-lang.org/en-US/team.html
> and some of them are paid to work full team, e.g.:
> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13324458
>
> Mozilla's audited financial statement for 2015 (
> https://static.mozilla.com/moco/en-US/pdf/2015_Mozilla_Audited_Financial_Statement.pdf) shows $414,380,000 
> in royalty revenue and $214,187,000 software development
> expenditure. Whereas the GNOME Fiscal Report for 2015 (
> https://www.gnome.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/GAR2015-web.pdf ) shows an income of $644,174. Notice the 
> missing zeros at the end there.
>
> Vala follows a very different development model. What is amazing that after
> a decade from the initial release Vala is still going strong. Look at the
> latest release notes (
> https://mail.gnome.org/archives/ftp-release-list/2017-March/msg00119.html ) and you see at the end 31 
> people credited with contributions.
>
> Vala/Genie is a very useful tool for producing performant native binaries for
> a wide range of applications. Including embedded systems, command line and text
> based user interfaces and graphical user interfaces.
>
> Vala certainly has some rough edges that need smoothing off before any
> 1.0 release - but that is another thread :-) If you wish to participate
> then great, otherwise good luck with your chosen development platform.
>
> Al
>
> P.S. for a more critical view of Rust one article is
> http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=7294&cpage=1
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Hello,

> OS kernels, well that's not a good use of Vala

Well, maybe it is not the best use of Vala, but it is definitely possible to have kernel written in Vala.

Here are some links:

- Multiboot kernel written in Vala: http://sites.google.com/site/mfpuentear/Home/multiboot-vala.tar.bz2
- Linux kernel module written in Vala: (sorry, can't find the link but it exists)
- posixvala: https://github.com/radare/posixvala
- Vala for AVR microcontrollers: https://github.com/apmasell/avr-vala

But the majority is using Vala for graphical applications.

Regards,
Dmitry