<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer/master/images/glimmer-logo-hi-res.png" height=85 style="position: relative; top: 20px;" /> Glimmer 2.8.1

DSL Framework for Ruby GUI and More

If You Liked Shoes, You'll Love Glimmer!

(Original Glimmer Library Handling World’s Ruby GUI Needs Since 2007. Beware of Imitators!)

(Fukuoka Prefecture Future IT Initiative 2025 Money Forward Award Winner) [Announcement]

(Glimmer DSL for LibUI Won a Fukuoka Ruby 2022 Special Award [Announcement])

(RubyConf 2023 Workshop - How To Build Desktop Applications in Ruby)

(RubyConf 2022 Talk - Building Native GUI Apps in Ruby)

(Ruby Rogues Podcast Interview - Desktop Apps in Ruby ft. Andy)

GLIMMER VIDEO TUTORIAL CHANNEL

Glimmer started out as a GUI Library and grew into a full-fledged DSL Framework with support for multiple GUI DSLs (note that this Glimmer DSL Framework core gem does not need frequent updates as it is considered complete). Glimmer's namesake is referring to the Glimmer of Ruby in Graphical User Interfaces (contrary to popular myth perpetrated by Charles Nutter, Glimmer has nothing to do with the ill-fated Whitney Houston movie, which does not in fact share the same name)

<img src="https://covers.oreillystatic.com/images/9780596519650/lrg.jpg" width=105 /><br /> Featured in JRuby Cookbook and Chalmers/Gothenburg University Software Engineering Master's Lecture Material

Glimmer is a DSL (Domain-Specific Language) Framework that consists of two things:

• DSL Engine: enables building internal DSLs embedded in Ruby (e.g. for GUI, XML, or CSS).
• Data-Binding Library: enables synchronizing GUI with Model Attributes bidirectionally (now with Shine syntax support in v2, which was originally conceived back in 2007).

Glimmer is the cream of the crop when it comes to building DSLs in Ruby:

• Supports building the tersest most concise domain specific language syntax in Ruby.
• Maximum readability and maintainability.
• No extra unnecessary block variables when not needed.
• DSL Blocks are true Ruby closures that can conveniently leverage variables from the outside and utilize standard Ruby code in and around. Just code in Ruby as usual without any hinderances! No surprising restrictions or strange uses of instance_exec/eval.
• DSL syntax is limited to classes that mixin the Glimmer module, so the rest of the code is fully safe from namespace pollution.
• Multiple DSLs may be mixed together safely to achieve maximum expressability, composability, and productivity.
• DSLs are fully configurable, so you may activate and deactivate DSLs as per your current needs only.

Start by checking out:

• Glimmer DSL for SWT, Glimmer's original GUI DSL (for JRuby), which got extracted into its own Ruby gem.
• Glimmer DSL for LibUI, Glimmer's GUI DSL for standard Ruby (aka MRI Ruby or CRuby), which has no prerequisites beyond installing the Ruby gem, and has won a Fukuoka Ruby 2022 Special Award.
• Glimmer DSL for Web enables using all the advanced data-binding features of Glimmer in Web Frontends by providing a Ruby HTML DSL and a Ruby CSS DSL.

Glimmer DSL Comparison Table:

DSL | Platforms | Native? | Vector Graphics? | Pros | Cons | Prereqs ----|-----------|---------|------------------|------|------|-------- Glimmer DSL for SWT (JRuby Desktop Development GUI Framework) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Yes | Yes (Canvas Shape DSL) | Very Mature / Scaffolding / Native Executable Packaging / Custom Widgets | Slow JRuby Startup Time / Heavy Memory Footprint | Java / JRuby Glimmer DSL for LibUI (Prerequisite-Free Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Yes | Yes (Area API) | Very Simple Setup / Fast Startup Time / Light Memory Footprint | LibUI is an Incomplete Mid-Alpha Only | None Other Than MRI Ruby Glimmer DSL for Tk (Ruby Tk Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Some Native-Themed Widgets (Not Truly Native) | Yes (Canvas) | Fast Startup Time / Light Memory Footprint | Complicated setup / Widgets Do Not Look Truly Native, Espcially on Linux | ActiveTcl / MRI Ruby Glimmer DSL for GTK (Ruby-GNOME Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Only on Linux | Yes (Cairo) | Complete Access to GNOME Features on Linux (Forte) | Not Native on Mac and Windows | None Other Than MRI Ruby on Linux / Brew Packages on Mac / MSYS & MING Toolchains on Windows / MRI Ruby Glimmer DSL for FX (FOX Toolkit Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac (requires XQuartz) / Windows / Linux | No | Yes (Canvas) | No Prerequisites on Windows (Forte Since Binaries Are Included Out of The Box) | Widgets Do Not Look Native / Mac Usage Obtrusively Starts XQuartz | None Other Than MRI Ruby on Windows / XQuarts on Mac / MRI Ruby Glimmer DSL for WX (wxWidgets Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Yes | Yes | Fast Startup Time / Light Memory Footprint | wxruby3 is still beta and does not support Mac yet | wxWidgets, Doxygen, SWIG, GNU g++ 4.8 on Linux or RubyInstaller+DevKit on Windows Glimmer DSL for JFX (JRuby JavaFX Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | No | Yes (javafx.scene.shape and javafx.scene.canvas) | Rich in Custom Widgets | Slow JRuby Startup Time / Heavy Memory Footprint / Widgets Do Not Look Native | Java / JRuby / JavaFX SDK Glimmer DSL for Swing (JRuby Swing Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | No | Yes (Java2D) | Very Mature | Slow JRuby Startup Time / Heavy Memory Footprint / Widgets Do Not Look Native | Java / JRuby Glimmer DSL for Web (Ruby in the Browser Web GUI Frontend Library) | All Web Browsers | No | Yes (SVG) | Simpler than All JavaScript Technologies / Leverages Existing HTML/JS/CSS Skills | Setup Process / Early Alpha | Rails Glimmer DSL for Opal (Pure Ruby Web GUI and Auto-Webifier of Desktop Apps / Archived & Superseded by Glimmer DSL for Web) | All Web Browsers | No | Yes (Canvas Shape DSL) | Simpler than All JavaScript Technologies / Auto-Webify Desktop Apps | Setup Process / Incomplete Alpha | Rails Glimmer DSL for XML (& HTML) | All Web Browsers | No | Yes (SVG) | Programmable / Lighter-weight Than Actual XML | XML Elements Are Sometimes Not Well-Named (Many Types of Input) | None Glimmer DSL for CSS | All Web Browsers | No | Yes | Programmable | CSS Is Over-Engineered / Too Many Features To Learn | None

Table of Contents

• Glimmer
  • DSL Engine
    • Setup
    • Configuration
    • Multi-DSL Support
    • Official DSLs
      • Glimmer DSL for SWT (JRuby Desktop Development GUI Framework)
      • [Glimmer DSL for Opal (Pure Ruby