[Seaside-dev] Dictionary backtracking compatibility in Squeak 4.1

[Andreas Raab]

Hi -

We're in the process of finishing up Squeak 4.1 and it looks as if all 
Seaside tests are green except WABacktrackingTest>>testDictionary. The 
issue is already reported at 
http://code.google.com/p/seaside/issues/detail?id=548 and marked 
critical but hasn't been addressed yet.

Since I'd like to see the issue addressed before 4.1 goes out, I'm 
asking about advice on how to resolve it best. The options that I see:

1. Implement #snapshotCopy and #restoreFromSnapshot: in Dictionary in 
the Grease-Pharo-Core package. To me, this is the best way to fix the 
issue because it seems likely that Pharo will follow suit with 
HashedCollection which will require Seaside to provide this 
compatibility implementation anyway. Implementing this now is simply an 
anticipation of this situation at virtually no extra cost.

2. Provide implementations of #snaphotCopy and #restoreFromSnapshot: 
directly in Squeak. Since neither method has any external references 
that is a straightforward fix to the problem for the time being. It's a 
little less desirable than the first option since it the method could 
conceivably change without us updating it (although that seems unlikely; 
it appears that the API is fairly stable).

3. Provide an extra Seaside-Squeak integration package. This is 
obviously the most work and currently not very desirable since we have 
no provisions to offer people a simple download like on 
builder.seaside.st. Plus, it seems a bit overkill to have to provide and 
maintain a separate package for such a small issue.

Any advice on how to best address the issue is appreciated.

Cheers,
   - Andreas