New Video Demonstrating Morphic Animation

Would you like to view a demonstration of how to take advantage of the Morphic animation system in Squeak? If so, you are in luck! A new video has recently been posted that takes you through the steps of doing just that. The Morphic animation system in Squeak offers a simple way to animate and interact with objects in your environment. Whether you are building basic animations or more complex interactive systems, Morphic provides a wealth of possibilities for both beginners and seasoned developers alike. You can watch the video titled “A BlinkingRectangle Morph in Smalltalk” here.

In addition to the video tutorial, you can explore a very simple, yet powerful example included in the Squeak image. This example morph can be found with the somewhat hard-to-remember name, MorphExample. By evaluating “MorphExample new openInWorld” (without the surrounding parentheses) in a Workspace, you can discover how easy it is to make morphs perform various actions. This demonstration emphasizes the beauty of the Morphic system’s simplicity: you do not need to write complex code to animate objects. Instead, you can focus on creating rich, interactive applications and interfaces with just a few lines of code.

One of the most compelling aspects of the Morphic system is how effortlessly it enables dynamic, real-time interaction, especially when used within the Smalltalk environment. Compared to many other graphical frameworks, where handling interactions often requires more complex event handling and manual updates, Morphic allows you to create interactive, animated objects with minimal code. For example, you can open a halo on the star, resize or rotate it, and the animation will continue to perform and adjust dynamically to the star’s new dimensions. This responsiveness highlights the simplicity and flexibility of the Morphic system, making it an ideal choice for building interactive systems without the need for manual recalculations or updates.

If you are interested in delving deeper into the Morphic system, you can access Chapter 12 of Squeak by Example for more detailed explanations and examples. The book offers a clear guide to the system, making it an excellent resource for developers looking to better understand Morphic. You can read the full chapter here.

For those who want to learn more about using halos with morphs in Squeak, there is another excellent video resource available. The video “Morphic Halo icons in Squeak Smalltalk” demonstrates how to interact with the Morphic halo icons to manipulate morphs in the Squeak environment. Whether you are new to Squeak or already familiar with the basics, this video provides valuable insights into how halos can be used to interact with morphs. Check it out here.

Have a great time with Smalltalk and keep on Squeaking!