[Newbies] Re: Why do lengthy installations "shut down" Squeak?

Zulq Alam me at zulq.net
Tue Feb 24 18:21:10 UTC 2009


Hi Rob,

Rob Rothwell wrote:
> Just wondering why, since Squeak has processes, when install something 
> large via the Universe Browser, etc... I can't do anything else in 
> Squeak while it is installing?  Is this by design?
> 
> It seems like it could just be a low priority background task and you 
> could keep working...

Was hoping a Monticello/Universe expert would chip in but since they 
haven't here's my 2 pence.

Firstly, I suspect no one has tried to do background code loading. Apart 
from some very large packages like Magma, it's usually bearable. And, if 
they did try and do background loading it wouldn't be straightforward.

For instance, if you're loading a package that makes signficant UI code 
changes such as Polymorph then I suspect it would be dangerous to keep 
working.

Or if you're making changes to classes that are being loaded your 
changes may be clobbered or vice versa,

Hope this helps.

- Zulq


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