Hi!

---Adriano <apeluso at peg.it> wrote:
> At 1:20 -0700 21-09-1999, "Gñran" Hultgren wrote:
> >I have been playing with a thought of creating a Squeak plugin
> >integrating a Python interpreter into Squeak to be able to use Python
> >objects and classes transparently. Python in turn uses Swig a lot to
> >bring in external libraries, if Squeak had a good integration with
> >Python we would get a lot of stuff "for free".
> 
> [...]
> 
> > ... On the other hand Python
> >has a LOT of cool stuff, like wxPython for instance.
> 
> >Then going in another direction perhaps CORBA support in Squeak would
> >cover Python and other stuff as well... BUT, on the other hand it
> >could be much easier to integrate a Python interpreter. And Python
has
> >CORBA support! :-)
> 
> I don't understand HOW does your Python interpreter work? Do you
have to
> import Python classes in any way? How?

Well, www.python.org has a lot of very good documentation, but in
principle you fire up the interpreter and then it loads .py source
files from disk. Each source file is a module and can import other
modules (files that is). Compilation to byte codes is done on the fly
and is typically not a separate step as with for example Java.
 
> Or does it work even leaving the Python classes in the Python
enviroinment?

Hmmm, Python does not have an "environment" as Squeak has. Or more
precisely you do not typically save the complete object memory as an
image...
 
> If so, how does it communicate with the Python world?

I think you lost me there... :-)
 
> Has Pyton also an XML parser? If so, it'd be really nice, that'd
become
> 'our' XML parser seamlessly.

Yes it has, multiple in fact. A good start at:
http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~lmariusg/download/python/xml/index.html
 
> And, I wonder, would the Python stuff rely on Python
> processes/threads/memory management, o, Python Virtual
> Machine/Kernel/Fundamentals?

Yes, I would think that you probably would start with a "loose"
embedding where the embedded Python interpreter handles it's own
stuff. But since Python by default has a rather simple reference
counting scheme instead of a complete garbage collector, it might be
quite easy to hold Python objects from within Squeak. I am not an
expert, perhaps someone else could elaborate - or tell me that
embedding a Python intepreter just plainly is a dumb idea! :-)
 
> >Dave Newman who had a mostly working version of T-Gen for Squeak back
> >in mars - please - post it! :-) I do not care for the UI as long as I
> >can use it in a workspace! T-Gen would be a very nice tool to use for
> >building parsers of all kinds.
> 
> What's T-Gen?

It is a program for generating parser - "Translator Generator". It
takes a lexikal and grammatical description as input and spits out a
couple of classes that can parse such a grammar. Very neat. Used it
very successfully a couple of years ago to build a compiler that
crosscompiled a freaky BASIC language to Smalltalk.

regards, G–ran


===
G–ran Hultgren, gohu at rocketmail.com, icq#:6136722
GSM: +46 709 472152, http://195.22.65.4
"First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you. Then you win." -- Gandhi
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