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Rebol 2

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rgchris edited this page Oct 5, 2016 · 3 revisions

What is Rebol

Rebol is a data exchange language and a programming language, but if you are here you probably already know this.

It is an interpreted language in which the interpreter loads your program (henceforth called a script) in memory and executes it.

Some points about Rebol:

  • Rebol 2 was released in 1999.
  • Rebol scripts are short and expressive. In a single line you can write an entire program.
  • The language can be extended with "dialects" that enable the programmer to add new WORDS for specific domains.
  • It is multi-platform. The same script can run on many OS's with no changes.
  • It includes a GUI system for light or heavy applications.
  • It is FAST. With a single loop you can search for an entry in a million of records in less than a second.
Rebol has been created by one of the gurus of the computing world - '''Carl Sassenrath'''.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebol

Why Rebol

  • Tired of installs that consume gigabytes and take hours to configure? Rebol setup is very fast: download the interpreter, run it and the Rebol environment is ready.
  • Create applications in less time with its highly expressive yet concise syntax. Download and process an entire web page in one line of code.
  • Connect to the X Internet.

Rebol 2 or Rebol 3?

Rebol 3 is currently under development. The concepts are essentially those of Rebol 2, but it has been extended in many ways.

For any production work, you should use Rebol 2 as it is a complete and quite stable. The adventurous might want to experiment with Rebol 3 in its present state, with the expectation that there will be bugs and undocumented areas to deal with.

Once comfortable with Rebol 2, the changes in Rebol 3 should present no difficulty, and by that time Rebol 3 should be ready for you with a more stable base.

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