Folks -

What a joy to read mail this morning.  I think we're on the way.

Jon, Marcio, Allen, and Stefan, I agree completely about your improved layering for the kernel; clearly the compiler does not belong in the real core, which is should only be the support for the execution engine.

At the same time, I'm more partial to working with a live image than with static composition (as you know).  It's just my sense of urgency to go forward, which I can see how to do with our live image.  I have no problem with a follow-up project that might restructure a few things so that both approaches were equally well supported.

Obviously, the dynamic image model has some problem starting with a compiler-free core (though image segments could be used to bring in the compiler), but I see no problem with a core that is layered, and the compiler can be thrown out, but not brought back in.

Phil, I don't have an immediate answer to your question about layering of the mathematical support, but isn't it great to be thinking about it!  I had fun in my tiny kernel project (which as all point out could be tinier still), using Floats to cover the few cases where LargeIntegers were needed.  Clearly the inner kernel has some minimal support for numbers and math, and then there's a more comprehensive package that gets added later for those applications that need it.

Andreas and Henrik, I like (of course ;-) your enthusiasm for taking a simple step forward that will allow us to start factoring the system, and that will provide a target for the higher-level support of modularity and group development.  I await Henrik's proposal for how to go about this, and meanwhile I'll dust off the old environments code to make sure it works, and remind myself of what else is needed.

	- Dan
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