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2nd Perl 6 Microgrant - Phil Crow / Java-Perl6 dec

brian_d_foy on 2007-04-06T12:06:00

We're pleased to announce that we've selected Phil Crow as the recipient of the second Perl 6 microgrant. Phil is the hacker behind the Java::Swing module which allows Perl programmers to put a Java Swing GUI on their application without writing any Java and he'll be using this knowledge to convert Java declarations to Perl 6. You can find details of the project he's planning in the text of his grant application:

Tim Bunce has suggested that it would be nice to have a general purpose declaration translator from Java to Perl. In particular, he is interested in leveraging this tool to create a JDBC API for Perl 6 from the Java JDBC classes and interfaces. The result would then provide a strong foundation for the Perl 6 DBI.

I propose to write that translator. It would have two pieces:

  • One would use the Java deparser (part of its standard development kit) to turn Java classes or interfaces into an internal structure
  • The other half would turn that structure into valid Perl 6. Note that it would only translate class, interface, and method declarations, not code.

Success for this project will be a working translator that generates method declarations in Perl 6 from compiled Java .class files. While all cases might not be covered, at least the final product should not die when faced with the unexpected. The generated files will be tested using the then current version of Pugs.

This project is new and has only recently been discussed in response to the call for proposals. I'm sure I will have questions to direct to various Perl 6 mailing lists as the project progresses.

Phil will be blogging about his grant progress at his use.perl.org journal.

This microgrant is supported by additional sponsorship from Tim Bunce / DBI.

Please join us in wishing him the best of luck with his project. We're really looking forward to seeing the results of this work.If you're interested in submitting a Perl 6 microgrant proposal, you can find details here.

Best, Leon and Jesse