This implementation is not under development anymore, as it was a prototype/proof-of-concept/MVP which I've successfully used to do rapid experimentation and evolve and stabilize the fundamentals of the concept.
I am currently working on a new implementation, which I intend to open-source once it is production-ready.
Userland is an integrated dataflow environment for end-users. It allows users to interact with modules that implement functionality for different domains from a single user interface and combine these modules in creative ways.
The UI works as a series of cells. Each cell can be set to a different mode, and each mode implemented as a separate module. There are currently three different modules:
- spreadsheet - basic spreadsheet-like behavior, activated by typing formulas
starting with an equals sign (e.g.
=1+1,=A1 * (3/2)) - shell - Unix shell mode, where each cell represents one command and its output,
activated by typing
shell. As the cell switches to shell-mode, it displays its current directory and allows commands to be entered. - synth - synthesizer mode, activated by typing commands starting with a
tilde (e.g
~triangle 220). Pressing Enter when a synth cell is focused will start/stop the audio wave.
Pressing Ctrl-Backspace clears the cell mode back to ?.
This video demonstrates the integration of "spreadsheet" and "shell" modules inside Userland.
At LIVE 2019 I also gave a live demo combining the "shell", "spreadsheet" and "synth" modules.
First, make sure you have the following installed:
You can install Rust support in LuaRocks with:
$ luarocks install luarocks-build-rust
Install the Lua dependencies for Userland:
$ luarocks --lua-version 5.1 --local make
Finally, run userland:
$ ./userland