Dart precompiled package for Mac 10.6 Snow Leopard

Since Google announced Dart, Twitter is full of it. Some are saying nobody will ever need it, since JavaScript is great. One should use CoffeeScript instead.

But hey, let’s face it. There are lots of Java developers out there. When you give them a language which does not contain classes, they are feeling strange. If you tell them functions are objects, they are puzzled. And finally if you tell them that JavaScript will probably not work the same in all browsers, they have lost THE ARGUMENT. Platform independence, folks!

Actually you can write good JavaScript code, I have learned this fact myself. Passing functions as argument can give you super powers, but honestly, you really need to dedicate some time to learn it. Especially when you come from the Java side of world. And now there is Dart. Classes. Even Interfaces. Wow. This is actually what many Java purists want. Dart actually reads like Java, somehow. Let’s see how this turns out. I have already compiled it (only on 32 bit, 64 fails - looks like not completed). It runs. If you would like to try Dart out, you can download my precompiled package (link removed, the package is outdated. Go to dartlang.org if you want to try Dart).

Not sure if it works inter-mac-wide, but you can give it a try. Basically download the zip file, extract it to a folder of your choice, then you need to edit your .profile file and add the folder, which contains the file “dart” to your $PATH. My system is 10.6.7 with XCode

1. I guess (!) the package will run on other 10.6.x systems, but hey, I am not sure. Play well ;-)