Classic computing fanatic Colin Hoad has launched a present to anybody who fondly remembers Psion’s basic EPOC-based palmtops and their Open Programming Language (OPL): a language server which brings trendy quality-of-life options to the OPL programmer, no matter their improvement atmosphere.
“OPL being a reasonably previous (I wish to suppose ‘venerable’) language, there may be scant help for it in any trendy IDE, together with [Microsoft] VS Code,” Hoad writes in an introduction to the venture forward of its first public launch.
“After some illuminating chats about this on the Psion Discord server, Alex Brown seeded the concept in my head of writing a language server for OPL utilizing the now extensively adopted Language Server Protocol (LSP). This felt like a meaty venture I might actually get my tooth into, and which might additionally function a possibility to increase my very own programming skills.”
Psion’s calculator-style Organizer household of PDAs was reasonably profitable in trade and enterprise following its launch in 1984, nevertheless it was the clamshell-style Collection collection and its EPOC working system which received it hearts and minds within the client sector. Its later, bigger gadgets – together with the delicate Psion Collection 7 and the Psion netBook, which might see Dell and Intel ) submitting and winning lawsuits in opposition to the corporate and its claims to the time period “netbook” as a trademark – weren’t fairly as profitable, and the corporate exited the buyer market earlier than being sold to Motorola Solutions as a shadow of its former self.
Again in 2017, Reg readers voted Psion’s Collection 5 household because the device they’d most like to see revived, a want which was partially granted a yr later when Planet Computing launched the Collection 5MX-inspired Gemini clamshell smartphone – with a well-known although not as cleverly hinged keyboard and customized apps designed to imitate a number of the options of EPOC, operating atop Android initially and later the choice of a personalized Linux distribution. For a lot of Psion followers, although, it is unique or nothing – albeit with modernizations together with a custom add-on for Wi-Fi connectivity.
Not everybody who’s into basic Psions is pushed by a need to revisit their youth. “I acquired into Psions again in 2023,” developer Hoad informed us of his late blooming within the fandom in an e mail interview, “following a visit to the Cambridge Centre for Computing Historical past’s ‘Retrofest’ occasion. I met Alex Brown (aka ‘The Final Psion’) who launched me to those great portables (he has a really spectacular assortment which he had introduced alongside to the occasion to exhibit) and I acquired hooked!
“OPL is a really intuitive programming language for me as a result of it shares loads in frequent with BASIC; I lower my programming tooth on BBC BASIC as a toddler, and so languages that share similarities with it like OPL are very a lot up my road.”
Hoad is not alone find OPL a welcoming language: one nameless Psion developer described it as like “QuickBASIC for EPOC,” and that the very fact it runs on-device with out the necessity to arrange a construct atmosphere makes it simply accessible – coupled with the problem of “Psion’s model of C++ [being] arduous work.”
“Programming on a Psion is nice insofar as you may carry it round with you and ‘code on the go,'” Hoad agrees, “however on the similar time, the programming expertise leaves somewhat to be desired in contrast with extra trendy IDEs. I believed it might be good to have the ability to code on a PC and switch the packages throughout, however shortly found that there was no syntax highlighting extension out there for VS Code (which is my traditional coding editor of alternative).
“I spoke to Alex about it and he mentioned there had been an extension written for Neovim however not for VS Code, so I plugged that hole. However after all, syntax highlighting is actually solely a small a part of a contemporary improvement atmosphere – and that is the place the language server is available in. I blame Alex for this one solely, as he completely nerdsniped me with the concept!”
Written in Object Pascal – picked as being a “extremely performant, quick language,” Hoad informed us – the language server goes past offering easy syntax highlighting in a single particular improvement atmosphere. Utilizing the open Language Server Protocol, it ensures compatibility with any IDE boasting LSP help. The server initially provides auto-complete for OPL key phrases with a view to increasing its capabilities sooner or later.
“It is nonetheless very a lot a work-in-progress venture,” Hoad admitted, “and I do not know the way many individuals will wish to use it as soon as it is full, however I’m having fun with the problem of constructing a language server from scratch, realizing that no one else has tackled it for OPL earlier than!”
As for {hardware}, Hoad boasts an affordable assortment of gadgets spanning the Organizer II, Collection 3, and Collection 5 households. “I do have a tendency to hold a minimum of one Psion round with me,” he informed us, “although it varies which one I decide. I took my 3a on vacation to the Maldives final yr, most likely probably the most unique place I’ve taken a Psion to thus far! And my Organizer II LZ definitely gave airport safety within the USA a little bit of a fright earlier this yr.”
OPL followers can discover Hoad’s language server on GitHub underneath the permissive MIT license. These with out entry to unique {hardware} can emulate a Psion Collection 5mx, full with OPL, of their browser by way of WindEmu. And you will discover posts charting the event of the language server on Hoad’s blog. ®
Source link
