I seem to have forgotten to make a post here about the previous release, release 3. But you will just have to imagine what it entailed, I think there is a youtube video somewhere.
In my mind this release is characterized by one thing and one thing only. Graphics. There has been graphical capability on the system since the first release. The main problem however is that it has only been accessible to me. But since this release on the 16th of January 2024, it is now easier than ever to write a graphical program on Serenum. A bit harder if you want to draw more than colored rectangles, but baby steps. Now that users have something to do on the platform, namely making simple games, the bottleneck has shifted. While this release contains many optimizations to improve the development cycle, it is a massive problem. Therefore I’m currently rewriting most of the compiler for more speed. The x64 backend is already self hosting and I am now working on direct emission of machine code for risc-v.
This release had many fixes that I have forgotten about and take for granted. I think you will too. Release 5 is likely just going to be the very fast compiler packaged with another bag of bug fixes. I expect this to raise the product value quite a bit since the compile-run cycle is the biggest drag on my enjoyment of using the platform. As a consequence I have pre-emptively raised the price. This is motivation for me work harder and ship more in order to catch up.
After that we will go into the funzone as I figure out how to operate the WIFI chip on the device. With this I can build a chat program for Serenum users to talk to each other and share programs. I can also start my work on replacing DNS. Very exciting!
Until then, join the Discord, or enjoy this screenshot of my modified rectangle.lbc program. So serene…
