Welcome to the NetRexx Programming Language!
NetRexx is a general-purpose programming language inspired by two very different programming languages, Rexx and Java. It is designed for people, not computers. In this respect it follows Rexx closely, with many of the concepts and most of the syntax taken directly from Rexx or its object-oriented version, Object Rexx. From Java it derives static typing, binary arithmetic, the object model, and exception handling. "A smart language designed for real people, and vice versa." Originally a product from the IBM Hursley Software Lab, NetRexx has always been free software and is free and open source since June 11th, 2011. It is the first alternative language for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Why NetRexx?
- NetRexx makes programming easy, and fun again
- The Rexx type, combining numeric and string processing in one class
- Unlimited precision arithmetic built into the language
- Interpret your code or compile to JVM .class files
- Lightning fast performance compared to other JVM scripting languages
- Seamless integration to all JVM libraries
- Built-in luxurious parsing and tracing
Hursley Labs
Hursley, located near Winchester in the UK, is the place where many famous products originate. Incidentally, in Hursley it's nearly twenty to six, according to the qtime program, one of the first-ever Rexx programs, dating from 1979. This is the NetRexx version from 1996, which is almost identical. Being British, NetRexx listens to both center and centre method spellings.
MFC on NetRexx
The seamless integration of types into what was previously an essentially typeless language does seem to have been a success, offering the advantages of strong typing while preserving the ease of use and speed of development that Rexx programmers have enjoyed. The end result of adding Java typing capabilities to the Rexx language is a single language that has both the Rexx strengths for scripting and for writing macros for applications and the Java strengths of robustness, good efficiency, portability, and security for application development.
-- Mike Cowlishaw
