Glimmer DSL for Opal [Alpha]

Glimmer DSL for Opal is an alpha gem that enables building web GUI in pure Ruby via Opal on Rails (now comes with the new Shine data-binding syntax).

Use in one of two ways:

• Direct: build the GUI of web apps with the same friendly desktop GUI Ruby syntax as Glimmer DSL for SWT, thus requiring a lot less code than web technologies that is in pure Ruby and avoiding opaque web concepts like 'render' and 'reactive'. No HTML/JS/CSS skills are even required. Web designers may be involved with CSS styling only if needed.
• Adapter: auto-webify Glimmer desktop apps (i.e. apps built with Glimmer DSL for SWT) via Opal on Rails without changing a line of GUI code. Just insert them as a single require statement in a Rails app, and BOOM! They're running on the web! Apps may then optionally be custom-styled for the web by web designers with standard CSS if needed.

Glimmer DSL for Opal successfully reuses the entire Glimmer core DSL engine in Opal Ruby inside a web browser, and as such inherits the full range of Glimmer desktop data-binding capabilities for the web (including Shine syntax using <=> and <= for bidirectional [two-way] and unidirectional [one-way] data-binding respectively).

(note that auto-webification of desktop apps that involve multiple threads might involve extra changes to the code to utilize web async calls due to the async nature of transpiled JavaScript code)

Code: lib/glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_table.rb

Glimmer GUI code from glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_table.rb:

# ...
shell {
  grid_layout

  text 'Hello, Table!'
  background_image File.expand_path('hello_table/baseball_park.png', __dir__)
  image File.expand_path('hello_table/baseball_park.png', __dir__)

  label {
    layout_data :center, :center, true, false

    text 'BASEBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE'
    background :transparent if OS.windows?
    foreground rgb(94, 107, 103)
    font name: 'Optima', height: 38, style: :bold
  }

  combo(:read_only) {
    layout_data :center, :center, true, false
    selection <=> [BaseballGame, :playoff_type]
    font height: 14
  }

  table(:editable) { |table_proxy|
    layout_data :fill, :fill, true, true

    table_column {
      text 'Game Date'
      width 150
      sort_property :date # ensure sorting by real date value (not `game_date` string specified in items below)
      editor :date_drop_down, property: :date_time
    }
    table_column {
      text 'Game Time'
      width 150
      sort_property :time # ensure sorting by real time value (not `game_time` string specified in items below)
      editor :time, property: :date_time
    }
    table_column {
      text 'Ballpark'
      width 180
      editor :none
    }
    table_column {
      text 'Home Team'
      width 150
      editor :combo, :read_only # read_only is simply an SWT style passed to combo widget
    }
    table_column {
      text 'Away Team'
      width 150
      editor :combo, :read_only # read_only is simply an SWT style passed to combo widget
    }
    table_column {
      text 'Promotion'
      width 150
      # default text editor is used here
    }

    # Data-bind table items (rows) to a model collection property, specifying column properties ordering per nested model
    items <=> [BaseballGame, :schedule, column_attributes: [:game_date, :game_time, :ballpark, :home_team, :away_team, :promotion]]

    # Data-bind table selection
    selection <=> [BaseballGame, :selected_game]

    # Default initial sort property
    sort_property :date

    # Sort by these additional properties after handling sort by the column the user clicked
    additional_sort_properties :date, :time, :home_team, :away_team, :ballpark, :promotion

    menu {
      menu_item {
        text 'Book'

        on_widget_selected {
          book_selected_game
        }
      }
    }
  }

  button {
    text 'Book Selected Game'
    layout_data :center, :center, true, false
    font height: 14
    enabled <= [BaseballGame, :selected_game]

    on_widget_selected {
      book_selected_game
    }
  }
}
# ...

Hello, Table! originally running on the desktop (using the glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Hello, Table! (same GUI code) running on the web via Opal on Rails (using the glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Hello, Table! Editing Game Date

Hello, Table! Editing Game Time

Hello, Table! Editing Home Team

Hello, Table! Sorted Game Date Ascending

Hello, Table! Sorted Game Date Descending

Hello, Table! Playoff Type Combo

Hello, Table! Playoff Type Changed

Hello, Table! Game Booked

NOTE: Glimmer DSL for Opal is an alpha project (only about 76% complete). If you want it developed faster, then open an issue report. I have completed some GitHub project features much faster before due to issue reports and pull requests. Please help make better by contributing, adopting for small or low risk projects, and providing feedback. It is still an early alpha, so the more feedback and issues you report the better.

Alpha Version 0.29.0 only supports bare-minimum capabilities for the included samples (originally written for glimmer-dsl-swt).

Learn more about the differences between various Glimmer DSLs by looking at the Glimmer DSL Comparison Table.

• Glimmer DSL for Opal [Alpha] (Pure Ruby Web GUI)
  • Principles
  • Background
  • Pre-requisites
  • Setup
  • Supported Glimmer DSL Keywords
  • Samples
    • Hello Samples
      • Hello, World!
      • Hello, Combo!
      • Hello, Composite!
      • Hello, Computed!
      • Hello, Cursor!
      • Hello, Label!
      • Hello, Layout!
      • Hello, List Single Selection!
      • Hello, List Multi Selection!
      • Hello, Browser!
      • Hello, Tab!
      • Hello, Custom Widget!
      • Hello, Custom Shell!
      • Hello, Radio!
      • Hello, Radio Group!
      • Hello, Group!
      • Hello, Canvas!
      • Hello, C Combo!
      • Hello, C Tab!
      • Hello, Checkbox!
      • Hello, Checkbox Group!
      • Hello, Date Time!
      • Hello, Table!
      • Hello, Text!
      • Hello, Button!
      • Hello, Arrow!
      • Hello, Message Box!
      • Hello, Pop Up Context Menu!
      • Hello, Print!
      • Hello, Progress Bar!
      • Hello, Menu Bar!
      • Hello, Dialog!
    • Elaborate Samples
      • Login
      • Contact Manager
      • Tetris
      • Tic Tac Toe
      • User Profile
      • Weather
    • External Samples
      • Glimmer Calculator
  • Glimmer Supporting Libraries
  • Glimmer Process
  • Help
    • Issues
    • Chat
  • Feature Suggestions
  • Change Log
  • Contributing
  • Contributors
  • License

• Live purely in Rubyland via the Glimmer GUI DSL, completely oblivious to web browser technologies, thanks to Opal.
• HTML is for creating documents not interactive applications. As such, software engineers can avoid it and focus on creating web applications more productively with Glimmer DSL for Opal in pure Ruby instead (just like they do in desktop development) while content creators and web designers can be the ones responsible for creating HTML documents for web content purposes only as HTML was originally intended. That way, Glimmer web GUI is used and embedded in web pages when providing users with applications while the rest of the web pages are maintained by non-engineers as pure HTML. This achieves a correct separation of responsibilities and better productivity and maintainability.
• Approximate styles by developers via the Glimmer GUI DSL. Perfect styles by designers via pure CSS. Developers can simply build GUI with approximate styling similar to desktop GUI and mockups without worrying about pixel-perfect aesthetics. Web designers can take styling further with pure CSS since every HTML element auto-generated by Glimmer DSL for Opal (using Glimmer DSL for XML & HTML) has a predictable ID and CSS class. This achieves a proper separation of responsibilities between developers and designers.
• Web servers are used just like servers in traditional client/server architecture, meaning they simply provide RMI services to enable centralizing some of the application logic and data in the cloud to make available everywhere and enable data-sharing with others.
• Forget Routers! Glimmer DSL for Opal supports auto-routing of custom shells (windows), which are opened as separate tabs in a web browser with automatically generated routes and bookmarkable URLs.
• Images Are Local Desktop apps typically display local images included in app files. When running a desktop app on the web, Glimmer DSL for Opal automatically copies application images to the assets directory and exposes them as download links. Desktop image Ruby code that uses File.expand_path or File.join automatically detects available image web URLs and matches them to corresponding desktop image paths behind the scenes, so desktop app images show up on the web without any extra effort! (Hello, Table! and Hello, Label! are good examples of that) (note that this works in Rails 5 on Heroku, but does not work in Rails 6-7 on Heroku though it works outside of it in Rails 6-7)

The original idea behind Glimmer DSL for Opal (which later evolved) was that you start by having a Glimmer DSL for SWT desktop app that communicates with a Rails API for any web/cloud concerns. The pure Ruby Glimmer DSL for SWT is very simple, so it is more productive to build GUI in it since it does not go through a server/client request/response cycle and can be iterated on locally with a much shorter feedback cycle. Once the GUI and the rest of the app is built. You simply embed it in a Rails app as a one line require statement, and BOOM, it just works on the web inside a web browser with the same server/client communication you had in the desktop app (I am working on adding minimal support for net/http in Opal so that desktop apps that use it continue to work in a web browser. Until then, just use Opal-jQuery http support). That way, you get two apps for one: desktop and web.

Part of the idea is that web browsers just render GUI widgets similar to those of a desktop app (after all a web browser is a desktop app), so whether you run your GUI on the desktop or on the web should just be a low-level concern, hopefully automated completely with Glimmer DSL for Opal.

Last but not least, you would likely want some special branding on the web, so you can push that off to a web designer who would be more than happy to do the web graphic design and customize the look and feel with pure CSS (no need for programming with Ruby or JavaScript). This enables a clean separation of concerns and distribution of tasks among developers and designers, let alone saving effort on the web GUI by reusing the desktop GUI as a base right off the bat.

Alternatively, web developers may directly use Glimmer DSL for Opal to build the GUI of web apps since it is as simple as desktop development, thus requiring a lot less code that is in pure Ruby only (as demonstrated in examples below) and avoiding opaque web concepts like 'render' and 'reactive' due to treating GUI as persistent just like desktop apps do. No HTML/JS/CSS skills are even required. Still, web designers may be involved with CSS only if needed, thanks to the clean semantic markup Glimmer DSL for Opal automatically produces.

• Rails 5-7: https://github.com/rails/rails
• Opal 1.4.1 for Rails 6-7 or Opal 1.0.5 for Rails 5: https://github.com/opal/opal
• Opal-Rails 2.0.2 for Rails 6-7 or Opal-Rails 1.1.2 for Rails 5: https://github.com/opal/opal-rails
• jQuery 3 (included): https://code.jquery.com/ (jQuery 3.6.0 is included in the glimmer-dsl-opal gem)
• jQuery-UI 1 (included): https://code.jquery.com/ (jQuery-UI 1.13.1 is included in the glimmer-dsl-opal gem)
• jQuery-UI Timepicker 0.3 (included): https://code.jquery.com/ (jQuery-UI Timepicker 0.3.3 is included in the glimmer-dsl-opal gem)

Note: This project has been superseded by Glimmer DSL for Web, which you should check out for more serious usage of Glimmer on the Web going forward! Glimmer DSL for Opal was a great experiment that proved a Glimmer GUI DSL can work on the Web by rendering HTML in web browsers using Ruby as the frontend language of Rails applications instead of JavaScript, allowing both declarative programming of user interface structure and imperative programming of user interface logic to happen more productively in one language instead of the awkward and unproductive mixing of multiple languages (HTML, JS, JSX, etc...) on the Web. Glimmer DSL for Web offers a more web-like approach to the Glimmer GUI DSL that better leverages existing HTML/CSS/JS skills, and will be maintained in place of this project going forward.

(NOTE: Keep in mind this is a very early experimental and incomplete alpha. If you run into issues, try to go back to a previous revision. Also, there is a slight chance any issues you encounter are fixed in master or some other branch that you could check out instead)

The glimmer-dsl-opal gem is a Rails Engine gem that includes assets.

Please follow the following steps to setup.

Install a Rails 7 gem:

gem install rails -v7.0.1

Start a new Rails 7 app:

rails new glimmer_app_server

Add the following to Gemfile:

gem 'opal', '1.4.1'
gem 'opal-rails', '2.0.2'
gem 'opal-async', '~> 1.4.0'
gem 'opal-jquery', '~> 0.4.6'
gem 'glimmer-dsl-opal', '~> 0.29.0'
gem 'glimmer-dsl-xml', '~> 1.3.1', require: false
gem 'glimmer-dsl-css', '~> 1.2.1', require: false

Run:

bundle

Follow opal-rails instructions, basically running:

bin/rails g opal:install

Edit config/initializers/assets.rb and add the following at the bottom:

Opal.use_gem 'glimmer-dsl-opal'

Run:

rails g scaffold welcome

Run:

rails db:migrate

Add the following to config/routes.rb inside the Rails.application.routes.draw block:

mount Glimmer::Engine => "/glimmer" # add on top
root to: 'welcomes#index'

Edit app/views/layouts/application.html.erb and add the following below other stylesheet_link_tag declarations:

<%= stylesheet_link_tag    'glimmer/glimmer', media: 'all', 'data-turbolinks-track': 'reload' %>

Clear the file app/views/welcomes/index.html.erb completely from all content.

Delete app/javascript/application.js

Edit and replace app/assets/javascript/application.js.rb content with code below (optionally including a require statement for one of the samples below):

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal' # brings opal and other dependencies automatically

# Add more require-statements or Glimmer GUI DSL code

Example to confirm setup is working:

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal'

include Glimmer

shell {
  fill_layout
  text 'Example to confirm setup is working'
  
  label {
    text "Welcome to Glimmer DSL for Opal!"
    foreground :red
    font height: 24
  }
}.open

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see:

If you run into any issues in setup, refer to the Sample Glimmer DSL for Opal Rails 7 App project (in case I forgot to include some setup steps by mistake). It is also hosted online (proving that it works): https://sample-glimmer-dsl-opal-rails7.herokuapp.com/

Otherwise, if you still cannot setup successfully (even with the help of the sample project, or if the sample project stops working), please do not hesitate to report an Issue request or fix and submit a Pull Request.

Please follow the following steps to setup.

Install a Rails 6 gem:

gem install rails -v6.1.4.6

Start a new Rails 6 app (skipping webpack):

rails new glimmer_app_server --skip-webpack-install

Disable the webpacker gem line in Gemfile:

# gem 'webpacker', '~> 5.0'

Add the following to Gemfile:

gem 'opal', '1.4.1'
gem 'opal-rails', '2.0.2'
gem 'opal-async', '~> 1.4.0'
gem 'opal-jquery', '~> 0.4.6'
gem 'glimmer-dsl-opal', '~> 0.29.0'
gem 'glimmer-dsl-xml', '~> 1.3.1', require: false
gem 'glimmer-dsl-css', '~> 1.2.1', require: false

Run:

bundle

Follow opal-rails instructions, basically running:

bin/rails g opal:install

Edit config/initializers/assets.rb and add the following at the bottom:

Opal.use_gem 'glimmer-dsl-opal'

Run:

rails g scaffold welcome

Run:

rails db:migrate

Add the following to config/routes.rb inside the Rails.application.routes.draw block:

mount Glimmer::Engine => "/glimmer" # add on top
root to: 'welcomes#index'

Edit app/views/layouts/application.html.erb and add the following below other stylesheet_link_tag declarations:

<%= stylesheet_link_tag 'glimmer/glimmer', media: 'all', 'data-turbolinks-track': 'reload' %>

Also, delete the following line:

<%= javascript_pack_tag 'application', 'data-turbolinks-track': 'reload' %>

Clear the file app/views/welcomes/index.html.erb completely from all content.

Edit and replace app/assets/javascript/application.js.rb content with code below (optionally including a require statement for one of the samples below):

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal' # brings opal and other dependencies automatically

# Add more require-statements or Glimmer GUI DSL code

Example to confirm setup is working:

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal'

include Glimmer

shell {
  fill_layout
  text 'Example to confirm setup is working'
  
  label {
    text "Welcome to Glimmer DSL for Opal!"
    foreground :red
    font height: 24
  }
}.open

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see:

If you run into any issues in setup, refer to the Sample Glimmer DSL for Opal Rails 6 App project (in case I forgot to include some setup steps by mistake). It is also hosted online (proving that it works): https://sample-glimmer-dsl-opal-rails6.herokuapp.com/

Otherwise, if you still cannot setup successfully (even with the help of the sample project, or if the sample project stops working), please do not hesitate to report an Issue request or fix and submit a Pull Request.

Please follow the following steps to setup.

Install a Rails 5 gem:

gem install rails -v5.2.6

Start a new Rails 5 app:

rails new glimmer_app_server

Add the following to Gemfile:

gem 'opal', '1.0.5'
gem 'opal-rails', '1.1.2'
gem 'opal-async', '~> 1.4.0'
gem 'opal-jquery', '~> 0.4.4'
gem 'glimmer-dsl-opal', '~> 0.29.0'
gem 'glimmer-dsl-xml', '~> 1.2.0', require: false
gem 'glimmer-dsl-css', '~> 1.2.0', require: false

Run:

bundle

Follow opal-rails instructions, basically the configuration of: config/initializers/assets.rb

Edit config/initializers/assets.rb and add the following at the bottom:

Opal.use_gem 'glimmer-dsl-opal'

Run:

rails g scaffold welcome

Run:

rails db:migrate

Add the following to config/routes.rb inside the Rails.application.routes.draw block:

mount Glimmer::Engine => "/glimmer" # add on top
root to: 'welcomes#index'

Edit app/views/layouts/application.html.erb and add the following below other stylesheet_link_tag declarations:

<%= stylesheet_link_tag    'glimmer/glimmer', media: 'all', 'data-turbolinks-track': 'reload' %>

Clear the file app/views/welcomes/index.html.erb completely from all content.

Delete app/assets/javascripts/application.js

Create an empty app/assets/javascripts/application.rb, and add Glimmer GUI DSL code or a require statement for one of the samples below.

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal' # brings opal and other dependencies automatically

# Add more require-statements or Glimmer GUI DSL code

Example to confirm setup is working:

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal'

include Glimmer

shell {
  fill_layout
  text 'Example to confirm setup is working'
  
  label {
    text "Welcome to Glimmer DSL for Opal!"
    foreground :red
    font height: 24
  }
}.open

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see:

If you run into any issues in setup, refer to the Sample Glimmer DSL for Opal Rails App project (in case I forgot to include some setup steps by mistake). It is also hosted online (proving that it works): https://sample-glimmer-dsl-opal-app.herokuapp.com/

Otherwise, if you still cannot setup successfully (even with the help of the sample project, or if the sample project stops working), please do not hesitate to report an Issue request or fix and submit a Pull Request.

The following keywords from glimmer-dsl-swt have fully functional partial support in Opal:

Widgets:

• arrow: featured in Hello, Arrow!
• button: featured in Hello, Checkbox! / Hello, Button! / Hello, Table! / Hello, Radio Group! / Hello, Radio! / Hello, Message Box! / Hello, List Single Selection! / Hello, List Multi Selection! / Hello, Group! / Hello, Combo! / Hello, Checkbox Group! / Contact Manager / Tic Tac Toe / Login
• browser: featured in Hello, Browser!
• calendar: featured in Hello, Date Time!
• checkbox: featured in Hello, Checkbox Group! / Hello, Checkbox!
• checkbox_group: featured in Hello, Checkbox Group!
• combo: featured in Hello, Table! / Hello, Combo!
• composite: featured in Hello, Radio! / Hello, Computed! / Hello, Checkbox! / Tic Tac Toe / Login / Contact Manager
• date: featured in Hello, Table! / Hello, Date Time! / Hello, Custom Shell! / Tic Tac Toe
• date_drop_down: featured in Hello, Table! / Hello, Date Time!
• dialog: featured in Hello, Dialog!
• group: featured in Hello, Group! / Contact Manager
• label: featured in Hello, Computed! / Hello, Checkbox Group! / Hello, Checkbox! / Hello, World! / Hello, Table! / Hello, Tab! / Hello, Radio Group! / Hello, Radio! / Hello, Pop Up Context Menu! / Hello, Menu Bar! / Hello, Date Time! / Hello, Custom Widget! / Hello, Custom Shell! / Contact Manager / Login
• list (w/ optional :multi SWT style): featured in Hello, List Single Selection! / Hello, List Multi Selection! / Contact Manager
• menu: featured in Hello, Menu Bar! / Hello, Pop Up Context Menu! / Hello, Table!
• menu_bar: featured in Hello, Menu Bar!
• menu_item: featured in Hello, Table! / Hello, Pop Up Context Menu! / Hello, Menu Bar!
• message_box: featured in Hello, Table! / Hello, Pop Up Context Menu! / Hello, Message Box! / Hello, Menu Bar!
• radio: featured in Hello, Radio! / Hello, Group!
• radio_group: featured in Hello, Radio Group!
• scrolled_composite
• shell: featured in Hello, Checkbox! / Hello, Button! / Hello, Table! / Hello, Tab! / Hello, Radio Group! / Hello, Radio! / Hello, List Single Selection! / Hello, List Multi Selection! / Hello, Group! / Hello, Date Time! / Hello, Custom Shell! / Hello, Computed! / Hello, Combo! / Hello, Checkbox Group! / Contact Manager / Tic Tac Toe / Login
• tab_folder: featured in Hello, Tab!
• tab_item: featured in Hello, Tab!
• c_tab_folder: featured in Hello, C Tab!
• c_tab_item: featured in Hello, C Tab!
• table: featured in Hello, Custom Shell! / Hello, Table! / Contact Manager
• table_column: featured in Hello, Table! / Hello, Custom Shell! / Contact Manager
• text: featured in Hello, Computed! / Login / Contact Manager
• time: featured in Hello, Table! / Hello, Date Time!
• Glimmer::UI::CustomWidget: ability to define any keyword as a custom widget - featured in Hello, Custom Widget!
• Glimmer::UI::CustomShell: ability to define any keyword as a custom shell (aka custom window) that opens in a new browser window (tab) automatically unless there is no shell open in the current browser window (tab) - featured in Hello, Custom Shell!

Layouts:

• grid_layout: featured in Hello, Custom Shell! / Hello, Computed! / Hello, Table! / Hello, Pop Up Context Menu! / Hello, Menu Bar! / Hello, List Single Selection! / Hello, List Multi Selection! / Contact Manager / Login / Tic Tac Toe
• row_layout: featured in Hello, Radio Group! / Hello, Radio! / Hello, Group! / Hello, Date Time! / Hello, Combo! / Hello, Checkbox Group! / Hello, Checkbox! / Contact Manager
• fill_layout: featured in Hello, Custom Widget!
• layout_data: featured in Hello, Table! / Hello, Custom Shell! / Hello, Computed! / Tic Tac Toe / Contact Manager

Graphics/Style:

• color: featured in Hello, Custom Widget! / Hello, Menu Bar!
• font: featured in Hello, Checkbox Group! / Hello, Checkbox! / Hello, Table! / Hello, Radio Group! / Hello, Radio! / Hello, Pop Up Context Menu! / Hello, Menu Bar! / Hello, Group! / Hello, Date Time! / Hello, Custom Widget! / Hello, Custom Shell! / Contact Manager / Tic Tac Toe
• Point class used in setting location on widgets
• swt and SWT class to set SWT styles on widgets - featured in Hello, Custom Shell! / Login / Contact Manager

Data-Binding/Observers:

• bind: featured in Hello, Computed! / Hello, Combo! / Hello, Checkbox Group! / Hello, Checkbox! / Hello, Button! / Hello, Table! / Hello, Radio Group! / Hello, Radio! / Hello, List Single Selection! / Hello, List Multi Selection! / Hello, Group! / Hello, Date Time! / Hello, Custom Widget! / Hello, Custom Shell! / Login / Contact Manager / Tic Tac Toe
• observe: featured in Hello, Table! / Tic Tac Toe
• on_widget_selected: featured in Hello, Combo! / Hello, Checkbox Group! / Hello, Checkbox! / Hello, Button! / Hello, Table! / Hello, Radio Group! / Hello, Radio! / Hello, Pop Up Context Menu! / Hello, Message Box! / Hello, Menu Bar! / Hello, List Single Selection! / Hello, List Multi Selection! / Hello, Group! / Contact Manager / Login / Tic Tac Toe
• on_modify_text
• on_key_pressed (and SWT alias on_swt_keydown) - featured in Login / Contact Manager
• on_key_released (and SWT alias on_swt_keyup)
• on_mouse_down (and SWT alias on_swt_mousedown)
• on_mouse_up (and SWT alias on_swt_mouseup) - featured in Hello, Custom Shell! / Contact Manager

Event loop:

• display: featured in Tic Tac Toe
• async_exec: featured in Hello, Custom Widget! / Hello, Custom Shell!

Canvas Shape DSL:

• line
• point
• oval
• polygon
• polyline
• rectangle
• string
• text

Follow the instructions below to try out glimmer-dsl-swt samples webified via glimmer-dsl-opal

The Hello samples demonstrate tiny building blocks (widgets) for building full fledged applications.

The Elaborate samples demonstrate more advanced sample applications that assemble multiple building blocks.

This external sample app contains all the samples mentioned below configured inside a Rails Opal app with all the pre-requisites ready to go for convenience:

https://github.com/AndyObtiva/sample-glimmer-dsl-opal-rails7-app

https://github.com/AndyObtiva/sample-glimmer-dsl-opal-rails-app

You may visit a Heroku hosted version at:

https://sample-glimmer-dsl-opal-rails7.herokuapp.com/

https://sample-glimmer-dsl-opal-app.herokuapp.com/

Note: Some of the screenshots might be out of date with updates done to samples in both glimmer-dsl-swt and glimmer-dsl-opal.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_world'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

include Glimmer
   
shell {
  text 'Glimmer'
  label {
    text 'Hello, World!'
  }
}.open

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, World!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_combo'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

class HelloCombo
  class Person
    attr_accessor :country, :country_options
  
    def initialize
      self.country_options = ['', 'Canada', 'US', 'Mexico']
      reset_country!
    end
  
    def reset_country!
      self.country = 'Canada'
    end
  end

  include Glimmer::UI::CustomShell
  
  before_body do
    @person = Person.new
  end
  
  body {
    shell {
      row_layout(:vertical) {
        fill true
      }
      
      text 'Hello, Combo!'
      
      combo(:read_only) {
        selection <=> [@person, :country] # also binds to country_options by convention
      }
      
      button {
        text 'Reset Selection'
        
        on_widget_selected do
          @person.reset_country!
        end
      }
    }
  }
end

HelloCombo.launch

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Combo!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_composite'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Composite!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_computed'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

class HelloComputed
  class Contact
    attr_accessor :first_name, :last_name, :year_of_birth
  
    def initialize(attribute_map)
      @first_name = attribute_map[:first_name]
      @last_name = attribute_map[:last_name]
      @year_of_birth = attribute_map[:year_of_birth]
    end
  
    def name
      "#{last_name}, #{first_name}"
    end
  
    def age
      Time.now.year - year_of_birth.to_i
    rescue
      0
    end
  end

  include Glimmer::UI::CustomShell

  before_body do
    @contact = Contact.new(
      first_name: 'Barry',
      last_name: 'McKibbin',
      year_of_birth: 1985
    )
  end

  body {
    shell {
      text 'Hello, Computed!'
      
      composite {
        grid_layout {
          num_columns 2
          make_columns_equal_width true
          horizontal_spacing 20
          vertical_spacing 10
        }
        
        label {text 'First &Name: '}
        text {
          fill_horizontally_layout_data
          text <=> [@contact, :first_name]
        }
        
        label {text '&Last Name: '}
        text {
          fill_horizontally_layout_data
          text <=> [@contact, :last_name]
        }
        
        label {text '&Year of Birth: '}
        text {
          fill_horizontally_layout_data
          text <=> [@contact, :year_of_birth]
        }
        
        label {text 'Name: '}
        label {
          fill_horizontally_layout_data
          text <= [@contact, :name, computed_by: [:first_name, :last_name]]
        }
        
        label {text 'Age: '}
        label {
          fill_horizontally_layout_data
          text <= [@contact, :age, on_write: :to_i, computed_by: [:year_of_birth]]
        }
      }
    }
  }
  
  def fill_horizontally_layout_data
    layout_data {
      horizontal_alignment :fill
      grab_excess_horizontal_space true
    }
  end
end

HelloComputed.launch

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Computed!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_cursor'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Cursor!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_label'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Label!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_layout'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Layout!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_list_single_selection'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, List Single Selection!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_list_multi_selection'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, List Multi Selection!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_arrow'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Arrow!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_scale'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Scale!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_slider'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Slider!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_spinner'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Spinner!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_browser'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Browser!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_tab'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

class HelloTab
  include Glimmer
  def launch
    shell {
      text "Hello, Tab!"
      tab_folder {
        tab_item {
          text "English"
          label {
            text "Hello, World!"
          }
        }
        tab_item {
          text "French"
          label {
            text "Bonjour, Univers!"
          }
        }
      }
    }.open
  end
end

HelloTab.new.launch

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Tab!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_custom_widget'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it (note that the Opal version needs Array#async_cycle from the opal-async gem instead of Array#cycle due to the async nature of JavaScript):

# This class declares a `greeting_label` custom widget (by convention)
class GreetingLabel
  include Glimmer::UI::CustomWidget
  
  # multiple options without default values
  options :name, :colors
  
  # single option with default value
  option :greeting, default: 'Hello'
  
  # internal attribute (not a custom widget option)
  attr_accessor :color
  
  before_body {
    @font = {height: 24, style: :bold}
    @color = :black
  }
  
  after_body {
    return if colors.nil?
    
    Thread.new { # imported from Glimmer DSL for SWT. In Opal, avoid Threads and sleep to avoid blocking GUI.
      colors.async_cycle { |color|
        async_exec {
          self.color = color
        }
        sleep(1)
      }
    }
  }
  
  body {
    # pass received swt_style through to label to customize (e.g. :center to center text)
    label(swt_style) {
      text "#{greeting}, #{name}!"
      font @font
      foreground <=> [self, :color]
    }
  }
  
end

# including Glimmer enables the Glimmer DSL syntax, including auto-discovery of the `greeting_label` custom widget
include Glimmer

shell {
  fill_layout :vertical
  
  minimum_size 215, 215
  text 'Hello, Custom Widget!'
  
  # custom widget options are passed in a hash
  greeting_label(name: 'Sean')
  
  # pass :center SWT style followed by custom widget options hash
  greeting_label(:center, name: 'Laura', greeting: 'Aloha') #
  
  greeting_label(:right, name: 'Rick') {
    # you can nest attributes under custom widgets just like any standard widget
    foreground :red
  }
  
  # the colors option cycles between colors for the label foreground every second
  greeting_label(:center, name: 'Mary', greeting: 'Aloha', colors: [:red, :dark_green, :blue])
}.open

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Custom Widget!"

This sample demonstrates Glimmer DSL for Opal's ability to open multiple shells (windows) as web browser tabs.

It automatically handles routing so that tab URLs are bookmarkable. Web developers do not have to do any routing configuration manually.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_custom_shell'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

require 'date'

# This class declares an `email_shell` custom shell, aka custom window (by convention)
# Used to view an email message
class EmailShell
  include Glimmer::UI::CustomShell
  
  # multiple options without default values
  options :date, :subject, :from, :message
  
  # single option with default value
  option :to, default: '"John Irwin" <john.irwin@example.com>'
  
  before_body {
    @swt_style |= swt(:shell_trim, :modeless)
  }
  
  body {
    # pass received swt_style through to shell to customize it (e.g. :dialog_trim for a blocking shell)
    shell(swt_style) {
      grid_layout(2, false)
      
      text subject

      label {
        text 'Date:'
      }
      label {
        text date
      }

      label {
        text 'From:'
      }
      label {
        text from
      }

      label {
        text 'To:'
      }
      label {
        text to
      }

      label {
        text 'Subject:'
      }
      label {
        text subject
      }

      label {
        layout_data(:fill, :fill, true, true) {
          horizontal_span 2 #TODO implement
          vertical_indent 10
        }
        
        background :white
        text message
      }
    }
  }
  
end

class HelloCustomShell
  # including Glimmer enables the Glimmer DSL syntax, including auto-discovery of the `email_shell` custom widget
  include Glimmer
  
  Email = Struct.new(:date, :subject, :from, :message, keyword_init: true)
  EmailSystem = Struct.new(:emails, keyword_init: true)
  
  def initialize
    @email_system = EmailSystem.new(
      emails: [
        Email.new(date: DateTime.new(2029, 10, 22, 11, 3, 0).strftime('%F %I:%M %p'), subject: '3rd Week Report', from: '"Dianne Tux" <dianne.tux@example.com>', message: "Hello,\n\nI was wondering if you'd like to go over the weekly report sometime this afternoon.\n\nDianne"),
        Email.new(date: DateTime.new(2029, 10, 21, 8, 1, 0).strftime('%F %I:%M %p'), subject: 'Glimmer Upgrade v100.0', from: '"Robert McGabbins" <robert.mcgabbins@example.com>', message: "Team,\n\nWe are upgrading to Glimmer version 100.0.\n\nEveryone pull the latest code!\n\nRegards,\n\nRobert McGabbins"),
        Email.new(date: DateTime.new(2029, 10, 19, 16, 58, 0).strftime('%F %I:%M %p'), subject: 'Christmas Party', from: '"Lisa Ferreira" <lisa.ferreira@example.com>', message: "Merry Christmas,\n\nAll office Christmas Party arrangements have been set\n\nMake sure to bring a Secret Santa gift\n\nBest regards,\n\nLisa Ferreira"),
        Email.new(date: DateTime.new(2029, 10, 16, 9, 43, 0).strftime('%F %I:%M %p'), subject: 'Glimmer Upgrade v99.0', from: '"Robert McGabbins" <robert.mcgabbins@example.com>', message: "Team,\n\nWe are upgrading to Glimmer version 99.0.\n\nEveryone pull the latest code!\n\nRegards,\n\nRobert McGabbins"),
        Email.new(date: DateTime.new(2029, 10, 15, 11, 2, 0).strftime('%F %I:%M %p'), subject: '2nd Week Report', from: '"Dianne Tux" <dianne.tux@example.com>', message: "Hello,\n\nI was wondering if you'd like to go over the weekly report sometime this afternoon.\n\nDianne"),
        Email.new(date: DateTime.new(2029, 10, 2, 10, 34, 0).strftime('%F %I:%M %p'), subject: 'Glimmer Upgrade v98.0', from: '"Robert McGabbins" <robert.mcgabbins@example.com>', message: "Team,\n\nWe are upgrading to Glimmer version 98.0.\n\nEveryone pull the latest code!\n\nRegards,\n\nRobert McGabbins"),
      ]
    )
  end
  
  def launch
    shell {
      grid_layout
      
      text 'Hello, Custom Shell!'
      
      label {
        font height: 24, style: :bold
        text 'Emails:'
      }
      
      label {
        font height: 18
        text 'Click an email to view its message'
      }
      
      table {
        layout_data :fill, :fill, true, true
      
        table_column {
          text 'Date:'
          width 180
        }
        table_column {
          text 'Subject:'
          width 180
        }
        table_column {
          text 'From:'
          width 360
        }
        
        items bind(@email_system, :emails), column_properties(:date, :subject, :from)
        
        on_mouse_up { |event|
          email = event.table_item.get_data
          Thread.new do
            async_exec {
              email_shell(date: email.date, subject: email.subject, from: email.from, message: email.message).open
            }
          end
        }
      }
    }.open
  end
end

HelloCustomShell.new.launch

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Custom Widget!"

This is the low level way of using radio

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_radio'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Radio!"

radio_group is a level higher than radio in abstraction. It generates a group of radio widgets based on available options in model attribute_options methods.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_radio_group'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

class HelloRadioGroup
  class Person
    attr_accessor :gender, :age_group
    
    def initialize
      reset!
    end
    
    def gender_options
      ['Male', 'Female']
    end
    
    def age_group_options
      ['Child', 'Teen', 'Adult', 'Senior']
    end
    
    def reset!
      self.gender = nil
      self.age_group = 'Adult'
    end
  end

  include Glimmer::UI::CustomShell
  
  before_body {
    @person = Person.new
  }
  
  body {
    shell {
      text 'Hello, Radio Group!'
      row_layout :vertical
      
      label {
        text 'Gender:'
        font style: :bold
      }
      
      radio_group {
        row_layout :horizontal
        selection <=> [@person, :gender]
      }
            
      label {
        text 'Age Group:'
        font style: :bold
      }
      
      radio_group {
        row_layout :horizontal
        selection <=> [@person, :age_group]
      }
      
      button {
        text 'Reset'
        
        on_widget_selected do
          @person.reset!
        end
      }
    }
  }
end

HelloRadioGroup.launch

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Radio Group!"

Not to be confused with radio_group or checkbox_group, group simply groups arbitrary widgets together and adds a title header above them.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_group'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Group!"

This is a minimal initial version of the Hello, Canvas! sample included in Glimmer DSL for SWT.

It supports all shapes and attribute data-binding, but no shape nesting or gradient support yet.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_canvas'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Canvas!"

This is the low level way of using c_combo

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_c_combo'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, C Combo!"

This is the low level way of using c_tab_folder/c_tab_item

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_c_tab'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, C Tab!"

This is the low level way of using checkbox

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_checkbox'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Checkbox!"

checkbox_group is a level higher than checkbox in abstraction. It generates a group of checkbox widgets based on available options in model attribute_options methods.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_checkbox_group'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

class HelloCheckboxGroup
  class Person
    attr_accessor :activities
    
    def initialize
      reset_activities
    end
    
    def activities_options
      ['Skiing', 'Snowboarding', 'Snowmobiling', 'Snowshoeing']
    end
    
    def reset_activities
      self.activities = ['Snowboarding']
    end
  end
  
  include Glimmer::UI::CustomShell
  
  before_body {
    @person = Person.new
  }
  
  body {
    shell {
      text 'Hello, Checkbox Group!'
      row_layout :vertical
      
      label {
        text 'Check all snow activities you are interested in:'
        font style: :bold
      }
      
      checkbox_group {
        selection <=> [@person, :activities]
      }
    
      button {
        text 'Reset Activities'
        
        on_widget_selected do
          @person.reset_activities
        end
      }
    }
  }
end

HelloCheckboxGroup.launch

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Checkbox Group!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_date_time'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Date Time!"

Note: This Glimmer DSL for SWT sample has near-complete support, but is missing table context menus at the moment.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_table'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Hello, Table! Editing Game Date

Hello, Table! Editing Game Time

Hello, Table! Editing Home Team

Hello, Table! Sorted Game Date Ascending

Hello, Table! Sorted Game Date Descending

Hello, Table! Playoff Type Combo

Hello, Table! Playoff Type Changed

Hello, Table! Game Booked

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Date Time!"

Hello, Table! Editing Game Date

Hello, Table! Editing Game Time

Hello, Table! Editing Home Team

Hello, Table! Sorted Game Date Ascending

Hello, Table! Sorted Game Date Descending

Hello, Table! Playoff Type Combo

Hello, Table! Playoff Type Changed

Hello, Table! Game Booked

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_text'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Text!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_button'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

class HelloButton
  include Glimmer::UI::CustomShell
  
  attr_accessor :count
  
  before_body {
    @count = 0
  }
  
  body {
    shell {
      text 'Hello, Button!'
      
      button {
        text <= [self, :count, on_read: ->(value) { "Click To Increment: #{value}  " }]
        
        on_widget_selected {
          self.count += 1
        }
      }
    }
  }
end

HelloButton.launch

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Button!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_message_box'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

include Glimmer

shell {
  text 'Hello, Message Box!'
  
  button {
    text 'Please Click To Win a Surprise'
    
    on_widget_selected {
      message_box {
        text 'Surprise'
        message "Congratulations!\n\nYou won $1,000,000!"
      }.open
    }
  }
}.open

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Message Box!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_print'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Print!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_progress_bar'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Progress Bar!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_pop_up_context_menu'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

include Glimmer

shell {
  grid_layout {
    margin_width 0
    margin_height 0
  }
  
  text 'Hello, Pop Up Context Menu!'
  
  label {
    text "Right-Click on the Text to\nPop Up a Context Menu"
    font height: 50
    
    menu {
      menu {
        text '&History'
        menu {
          text '&Recent'
          menu_item {
            text 'File 1'
            on_widget_selected {
              message_box {
                text 'File 1'
                message 'File 1 Contents'
              }.open
            }
          }
          menu_item {
            text 'File 2'
            on_widget_selected {
              message_box {
                text 'File 2'
                message 'File 2 Contents'
              }.open
            }
          }
        }
        menu {
          text '&Archived'
          menu_item {
            text 'File 3'
            on_widget_selected {
              message_box {
                text 'File 3'
                message 'File 3 Contents'
              }.open
            }
          }
          menu_item {
            text 'File 4'
            on_widget_selected {
              message_box {
                text 'File 4'
                message 'File 4 Contents'
              }.open
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}.open

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Pop Up Context Menu!"

This sample demonstrates a menu bar similar to the File menu bar you see at the top of desktop applications.

In web applications, it is typically used to provide website information architecture by denoting things like Products, News, Careers, and About.

In web applications, it is also typically styled by CSS with margin/padding around every menu, distancing it from the top.

When auto-webifying a pre-existing desktop application, the menu bar can be hidden with CSS if not needed, or simply shown on hover only. Web designers could decide these things to their heart's content with pure CSS independently of the developers' code.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_menu_bar'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

include Glimmer

COLORS = [:white, :red, :yellow, :green, :blue, :magenta, :gray, :black]

shell {
  grid_layout {
    margin_width 0
    margin_height 0
  }
  
  text 'Hello, Menu Bar!'
  
  @label = label(:center) {
    font height: 50
    text 'Check Out The Menu Bar Above!'
  }
  
  menu_bar {
    menu {
      text '&File'
      menu_item {
        text '&New'
        accelerator :command, :N

        on_widget_selected {
          message_box {
            text 'New'
            message 'New file created.'
          }.open
        }
      }
      menu_item {
        text '&Open...'
        accelerator :command, :O

        on_widget_selected {
          message_box {
            text 'Open'
            message 'Opening File...'
          }.open
        }
      }
      menu {
        text 'Open &Recent'
        menu_item {
          text 'File 1'
          on_widget_selected {
            message_box {
              text 'File 1'
              message 'File 1 Contents'
            }.open
          }
        }
        menu_item {
          text 'File 2'
          on_widget_selected {
            message_box {
              text 'File 2'
              message 'File 2 Contents'
            }.open
          }
        }
      }
      menu_item(:separator)
      menu_item {
        text 'E&xit'

        on_widget_selected {
          exit(0)
        }
      }
    }
    menu {
      text '&Edit'
      menu_item {
        text 'Cut'
        accelerator :command, :X
      }
      menu_item {
        text 'Copy'
        accelerator :command, :C
      }
      menu_item {
        text 'Paste'
        accelerator :command, :V
      }
    }
    menu {
      text '&Options'

      menu_item(:radio) {
        text '&Enabled'

        on_widget_selected {
          @select_one_menu.enabled = true
          @select_multiple_menu.enabled = true
        }
      }
      @select_one_menu = menu {
        text '&Select One'
        enabled false

        menu_item(:radio) {
          text 'Option 1'
        }
        menu_item(:radio) {
          text 'Option 2'
        }
        menu_item(:radio) {
          text 'Option 3'
        }
      }
      @select_multiple_menu = menu {
        text '&Select Multiple'
        enabled false

        menu_item(:check) {
          text 'Option 4'
        }
        menu_item(:check) {
          text 'Option 5'
        }
        menu_item(:check) {
          text 'Option 6'
        }
      }
    }
    menu {
      text '&Format'
      menu {
        text '&Background Color'
        COLORS.each { |color_style|
          menu_item(:radio) {
            text color_style.to_s.split('_').map(&:capitalize).join(' ')

            on_widget_selected {
              @label.background = color_style
            }
          }
        }
      }
      menu {
        text 'Foreground &Color'
        COLORS.each { |color_style|
          menu_item(:radio) {
            text color_style.to_s.split('_').map(&:capitalize).join(' ')

            on_widget_selected {
              @label.foreground = color_style
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
    menu {
      text '&View'
      menu_item(:radio) {
        text 'Small'

        on_widget_selected {
          @label.font = {height: 25}
          @label.parent.pack
        }
      }
      menu_item(:radio) {
        text 'Medium'
        selection true

        on_widget_selected {
          @label.font = {height: 50}
          @label.parent.pack
        }
      }
      menu_item(:radio) {
        text 'Large'

        on_widget_selected {
          @label.font = {height: 75}
          @label.parent.pack
        }
      }
    }
    menu {
      text '&Help'
      menu_item {
        text '&Manual'
        accelerator :command, :shift, :M

        on_widget_selected {
          message_box {
            text 'Manual'
            message 'Manual Contents'
          }.open
        }
      }
      menu_item {
        text '&Tutorial'
        accelerator :command, :shift, :T

        on_widget_selected {
          message_box {
            text 'Tutorial'
            message 'Tutorial Contents'
          }.open
        }
      }
      menu_item(:separator)
      menu_item {
        text '&Report an Issue...'

        on_widget_selected {
          message_box {
            text 'Report an Issue'
            message 'Reporting an issue...'
          }.open
        }
      }
    }
  }
}.open

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Menu Bar!"

This sample demonstrates a modal dialog similar to message_box, but allows adding arbitrary widgets, not just a message.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/hello/hello_dialog'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

include Glimmer

shell {
  row_layout :vertical
  
  text 'Hello, Dialog!'
  
  7.times { |n|
    dialog_number = n + 1
    
    button {
      layout_data {
        width 200
        height 50
      }
      text "Dialog #{dialog_number}"
      
      on_widget_selected {
        dialog { |dialog_proxy|
          row_layout(:vertical) {
            center true
          }
          
          text "Dialog #{dialog_number}"
          
          label {
            text "Given `dialog` is modal, you cannot interact with the main window till the dialog is closed."
          }
          composite {
            row_layout {
              margin_height 0
              margin_top 0
              margin_bottom 0
            }

            label {
              text "Unlike `message_box`, `dialog` can contain arbitrary widgets:"
            }
            radio {
              text 'Radio'
            }
            checkbox {
              text 'Checkbox'
            }
          }
          button {
            text 'Close'
            
            on_widget_selected {
              dialog_proxy.close
            }
          }
        }.open
      }
    }
  }
}.open

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Hello, Dialog!"

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/elaborate/login'

Or add the Glimmer code directly if you prefer to play around with it:

require "observer"

class LoginPresenter

  attr_accessor :user_name
  attr_accessor :password
  attr_accessor :status

  def initialize
    @user_name = ""
    @password = ""
    @status = "Logged Out"
  end

  def status=(status)
    @status = status

    notify_observers("logged_in")
    notify_observers("logged_out")
  end
  
  def valid?
    !@user_name.to_s.strip.empty? && !@password.to_s.strip.empty?
  end

  def logged_in
    self.status == "Logged In"
  end

  def logged_out
    !self.logged_in
  end

  def login
    return unless valid?
    self.status = "Logged In"
  end

  def logout
    self.user_name = ""
    self.password = ""
    self.status = "Logged Out"
  end

end

class Login
  include Glimmer::UI::CustomShell
  
  before_body {
    @presenter = LoginPresenter.new
  }

  body {
    shell {
      text "Login"
      
      composite {
        grid_layout 2, false #two columns with differing widths

        label { text "Username:" } # goes in column 1
        @user_name_text = text {   # goes in column 2
          text <=> [@presenter, :user_name]
          enabled <= [@presenter, :logged_out?, computed_by: :status]
          
          on_key_pressed { |event|
            @password_text.set_focus if event.keyCode == swt(:cr)
          }
        }

        label { text "Password:" }
        @password_text = text(:password, :border) {
          text <=> [@presenter, :password]
          enabled <= [@presenter, :logged_out?, computed_by: :status]
          
          on_key_pressed { |event|
            @presenter.login! if event.keyCode == swt(:cr)
          }
        }

        label { text "Status:" }
        label { text <= [@presenter, :status] }

        button {
          text "Login"
          enabled <= [@presenter, :logged_out?, computed_by: :status]
          
          on_widget_selected { @presenter.login! }
          on_key_pressed { |event|
            if event.keyCode == swt(:cr)
              @presenter.login!
            end
          }
        }

        button {
          text "Logout"
          enabled <= [@presenter, :logged_in?, computed_by: :status]
          
          on_widget_selected { @presenter.logout! }
          on_key_pressed { |event|
            if event.keyCode == swt(:cr)
              @presenter.logout!
              @user_name_text.set_focus
            end
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
end

Login.launch

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Login" dialog

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/elaborate/contact_manager'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer DSL for SWT Contact Manager

Glimmer DSL for SWT Contact Manager Find

Glimmer DSL for SWT Contact Manager Edit Started

Glimmer DSL for SWT Contact Manager Edit In Progress

Glimmer DSL for SWT Contact Manager Edit Done

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Contact Manager"

Glimmer DSL for Opal Contact Manager

Glimmer DSL for Opal Contact Manager Find

Glimmer DSL for Opal Contact Manager Edit Started

Glimmer DSL for Opal Contact Manager Edit In Progress

Glimmer DSL for Opal Contact Manager Edit Done

This is a slightly minimal version of the Tetris seen in Glimmer DSL for SWT.

Note that while the Glimmer GUI DSL code is mostly the same, some of the behavioral code around threads is changed into async Opal code via the opal-async gem due to the async nature of transpiled JavaScript.

Still, this sample has done the remarkable feat of reusing all of the Tetris model/view logic from Glimmer DSL for SWT mostly unchanged.

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/elaborate/tetris'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Tetris" (a minimal version of the one in Glimmer DSL for SWT)

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/elaborate/tic_tac_toe'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Tic Tac Toe"

Code: lib/glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/elaborate/user_profile

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/elaborate/user_profile'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "User Profile"

This sample does everything the desktop sample does except for the Canvas Shape DSL rectangle decoration (until supported).

Code: lib/glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/elaborate/weather

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-dsl-opal/samples/elaborate/weather'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000

You should see "Weather"

Add the glimmer-cs-calculator gem to Gemfile (without requiring):

gem 'glimmer-cs-calculator', require: false

Add the following require statement to app/assets/javascripts/application.rb

require 'glimmer-cs-calculator/launch'

Glimmer app on the desktop (using the glimmer-dsl-swt gem):

Glimmer app on the web (using glimmer-dsl-opal gem):

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Visit http://localhost:3000 (or visit: http://glimmer-cs-calculator-server.herokuapp.com)

You should see "Glimmer Calculator"

Here is an Apple Calculator CSS themed version (with CSS only, no app code changes):

Visit http://glimmer-cs-calculator-server.herokuapp.com/welcomes/apple

You should see "Apple Calculator Theme"

Here is a list of notable 3rd party gems used by Glimmer DSL for Opal:

• glimmer-dsl-xml: Glimmer DSL for XML & HTML in pure Ruby.
• glimmer-dsl-css: Glimmer DSL for CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) in pure Ruby.
• opal-async: Non-blocking tasks and enumerators for Opal.
• to_collection: Treat an array of objects and a singular object uniformly as a collection of objects.

Glimmer Process is the lightweight software development process used for building Glimmer libraries and Glimmer apps, which goes beyond Agile, rendering all Agile processes obsolete. Glimmer Process is simply made up of 7 guidelines to pick and choose as necessary until software development needs are satisfied.

Learn more by reading the GPG (Glimmer Process Guidelines)

You may submit issues on GitHub.

Click here to submit an issue.

If you need live help, try to

These features have been suggested. You might see them in a future version of Glimmer. You are welcome to contribute more feature suggestions.

TODO.md

CHANGELOG.md

CONTRIBUTING.md

• Andy Maleh (Founder)

Click here to view contributor commits.

MIT

Copyright (c) 2020-2022 - Andy Maleh. See LICENSE.txt for further details.

--

Built for Glimmer (DSL Framework).