[Cuis] [web] Nancy

[Juan Vuletich]

Hi Casey,

On 3/29/2015 11:55 PM, Casey Ransberger wrote:
> So I'm a fan of this minimalist web framework for Ruby named Sinatra.

Some time ago I got to use Flask for Python quite a bit. It looks 
similar to Sinatra. It was a good experience, and it would be good to 
have something like that for Cuis!

> I had the idea a couple of years ago that I'd like to do something similar for Smalltalk. Squeak is still a very fat server, so Cuis seemed a good host environment.
>
> The cool thing about Sinatra is that it's bare-bones. The other cool thing about it is, you can just drop in whatever tech you want to use while you worry about the details. Want a canvas-style API for generating HTML? Drop in Erector. Etc., etc.
>
> Seems like we should have something like this in the Squeak community, because Seaside -- while very powerful -- is also very complex and it would be difficult for the minimalist crowd (read: us) to keep pace with it and incompatibilities we have with Pharo.
>
> Cuis is the right foundation to build a Sinatra-like library on, at least right now. It also fits well with our one-human, one-machine understanding ethic.
>
> I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I have (in my mind's eye) a web framework for Smalltalk called Nancy, after Frank Sinatra's daughter. I stumbled over the HTTP layer a bit because protocols are not my profession, and Andreas unexpectedly passed. Sounds like someone has handled the problem of making his web stuff work on our system, and a lightweight, flexible web framework for Cuis seems like a timely adventure, now.
>
> I'd like to recommend visiting http://www.sinatrarb.com, and pay attention to do...end. See that this approach is elegant and flexible, that it lends itself identically to Smalltalk block closures.
>
> If you think I'm not nuts, and you'd like to jump in on this idea, please do reply. If I have more than one taker, maybe we can make a summer project of it. Start serving our own source code!
>
> Cheers,
>
> --C

Please go ahead.

Cheers,
Juan Vuletich