----- Original Message -----
From: Marcel Weiher <marcel at system.de>
To: <squeak at cs.uiuc.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 1999 12:00 PM
Subject: Squeak -> Objective-C translation


> Hi folks,
>
> I've finally started work on a version of the C-Translator capable
> of producing Objective-C.  There are several applications I am
> targeting:  (1) using Squeak to develop/prototype Objective-C code
> (2a) using Objective-C as an intermediate plug-in language that is
> semantically closer (2b) translating larger portions of Squeak libs
> to dynamically bound native code and (3) making VM/Interpreter code
> OO to allow for better integration, easier experimentation and
> multiple interpreters.

This sounds great.

....

Hi all:

I'm concerned about graphics speed, again.

This my second excursion into Squeak in about a year and a half, and, as
usual, I'm deeply inspired, but frustrated by lackluster graphics
performance.  I'm running Squeak 2.3 on Windows NT 4.0/SP4 on a dual 350 Mhz
PII with 256MB RAM, Rage Magnum AGP video card, and a big SCSI hard drive.
Mostly, performance is fine for mundane activities like moving windows and
popping menus, as long as I keep color depth at 16 bits or lower.  I'm much
happier with Squeak (and my machine) now than I was last time.

I'm coming from the VSE/VW/Dolphin side of Smalltalk, and would really like
to "live" permanently in Squeak.  I have a couple of apps to write.  One is
3D-ish ("thick" 2D) and involves graphing and spectrally analyzing
time-series data.  The second is a true 3D simulation of a large
sphere-packed aggregate containing thousands to hundreds of thousands of
objects.  I have to spin and otherwise animate the aggregate, and already
I'm starting to sweat.

I fear that I will start coding, develop a strong liking for Morphic, get
close to finishing the apps, and then discover that I don't have enough
graphics speed to use them effectively.  At that point I would, of course,
run back to VW, again.  That's a painful prospect.

So, somebody, please help me speed this thing up.  I have some time to spend
on this.

While reading the Squeak documents on line, I found someone who (at one
time) seemed to be working on an OpenGL extension.  Is this still going on?

Has anyone considered Troll Tech Qt's signal/slot pattern approach to
creating callback-less, type-less connectivity for widgets?  This seems
worthy of investigation now that we may soon have Object-C to use, instead
of the C++ in which Qt is written.  Look at http://www.troll.no/ and
http://www.troll.no/products/qt.html.  Troll Tech have also integrated HOOPS
(Hierarchical Object-Oriented Programming System) with their Qt product, for
a great combination of high-level abstraction and speed.  I don't know
enough yet about Morphic or Squeak's variant of MVC to determine how Qt's
signal/slot pattern might be applied to improve them.  I haven't studied
BitBlt yet, either.
Is everyone happy with Morphic's plasticity?  A more productive way of
asking this is:  Tell me what's wrong with Morphic or what you want to see
changed or added.

My next step is to learn how to manage code in Squeak, and work a few
Morphic examples.  I would appreciate any perspective or guidance.


Cheers.