World: r3wp

So it is essential like read/lines but instead it reads blocks.

mchean, it's only available in the latest alpha.

>> source chat
chat: make function! [[
    "Open REBOL DevBase forum/BBS." /local err
][
    print "Fetching chat..."
    if error? err: try [do http://www.rebol.com/r3/chat.rnone] [

        either err/id = 'protocol [print "Cannot load chat from web."] [do 
        err]
    ]
    exit
]]

Henrik, there is no need to automaticly compress the  data. If you 
want so, just append compressed data in the block.
>> append v-block compress data

Steeve, that takes up double size on disk, doesn't it?

don't see your point Henrik, double size compared with what ?

compared to an actual binary. you said, that data was stored as plain 
REBOL data in the file.

but if you want to store binary data, just add binary data, i do 
not any conversion, store your data int he format you want

thanks

hum, i see your point now henrik, yes even binary data are stored 
as rebol values, so that there take much more space.

yes, that's what I meant. :-)

perhaps i will add on option in the scheme to store data as pure 
binaries

it might be useful in cases where you want to store images and such.

right

Steeve, aside from the REBOL-syntax-storage aspect, your virtual 
block scheme sounnds like the RIF (REBOL Indexed Files) proposal 
that was at one point intended for inclusion in R3 (and may still 
be).

However, RIF was intended to store its data in Rebin format (binary 
encoding of REBOL values).

BrianH, I'm thinking that Steeve has made his design good enough 
to allow doing that as an option. :-)

thinking = hoping

So can specify how many blocks of data you want to read at a time? 
 Like say I want to read 10 blocks and stop and then read 10 more 
where that one left off?

Sorry I got distracted - I had to use some mighty puddy on a chair.

I have a function called get-block which I use to handle block reading 
currently.

It can be used on binary data as well as ascii data and will carve 
out the blocks of the buffer.

It seems rebdev mobile is down right now, so I made a screenshot 
of Steeve's example post:

http://rebol.hmkdesign.dk/files/r3/gui/182.png

>> a: "this is a test [now a block] garbage [another block with a 
block in it []][and another] garbage..

 == {this is a test [now a block] garbage [another block with a block 
 in it []][and another] garbage..}
>> get-block a
== [now a block]
>> 
 get-block a
== [another block with a block in it []]
>> get-block 
 a
== [and another]

My get-block function just advanced automatically through the string.

anyone know which sort algorithm that R3 uses for it's sort function?

Paul, yes i do by using  the standard copy/part function.
>> copy/part v-block 10
== [ first-value second-one etc...]

copy is auto advancing in the block, so that if you do several copy/part 
at once , you will get several sub blocks of values.

So 10 would equal ten blocks read?

yes

Can it handle newlines in the block contents?

it works in reverse order either.
>> copy/part  tail vblock -10
get the last 10 values of the block

Yes Paul, it does

Good, it is sounding nice Steeve.  Hope to see it in R3.

Yours sounds like what Chris wants to do.

even it it's not in core R3, it will be downloadable.

Nice Steeve.

i will release the first version in some days or hours, i need to 
write more documentation

Please post in ALTME as well.  I would like to check it out.

rebdev private msging fixed ..

Will R3 introduce function overloading?

Nope, functions are still values.

ok..

Which is incompatible semantically with overloaded functions. You 
can only overload functions in languages where functions are declared, 
not where they are constructed and assigned.

Correct, how about default parameter values when no arguments are 
passed and a function is invoked?  That would be a nice feature to 
have.

We can do this now in a more complicated manner.

I guess that could be related to the declaration issue also though.

No, that's feasible in theory, but only for arguments that are optional 
in the REBOL style, using refinements (or any-type! for the last 
arguments) - REBOL's evaluation model depends on knowing the number 
of arguments. In practice the current method may be more efficient 
- we can see. That could be handled by a function construction function, 
i.e. FUNC, HAS or DOES.

Declaration is not the issue here, it is the lack of parentheses.

We can currently do default values in R2.

Yup, likely using the same function construction functions as R3 
if you like. Unlike FUNCT and FUNCTOR, that problem doesn't sound 
like it would require anything new to make things easier.