About ten years ago, frustrated with my existing home automation system, I decided to write some software myself. I wanted to keep the devices I already had, add the latest gadgets I fancied, and create reasonably complex scripts that would allow everything to work together.
Yes, there were some promising new technologies emerging, but each seemed to demand that I throw away what I already had, lock myself into yet another proprietary ecosystem, and still not offer much more than “when sensor 1 detects motion, switch on light 2.”
Having written compilers and interpreters in the distant past, I decided to create my own home automation scripting language. And so Homylon was born.
For years, it simply ran on my Macs, quietly doing exactly what I wanted. Of course, the thought of sharing it with the world crossed my mind more than once. But, to be fair, the whole thing had become far too complex and too large for one person to turn into something others could actually use.
But this year, two things happened.
First, my Patricia was diagnosed with cancer. We’ve been going through a long and demanding medical journey together, lasting about a year. We’re halfway through now, and I needed something to distract myself from time to time.
Second, I had already been experimenting with AI (have a look at my AI-written magazine, HuddleWorld.com), and the latest models have become really, really good.
Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of lines of code became manageable, maintainable, and expandable. What had seemed like an impossible one-man project was suddenly within reach.
And so, here we are!
Is it finished? Nooooo.
Does it work? Yesssss! :)
Enjoy!