Hi Todd!

--- Todd Kueny <todd at think121.com> wrote:
[SNIP]
> Over the last n years I have rejected Java (as lame and slow) and lisp as requiring too much
> effort to port the compiler, etc. Most other stuff is either under some form of GPL (GNU
> Smalltalk) or is just not real (for example, a squeak XML parser appears to be about as fast as
> our C++ parser on large 3Mb+ XML files; files which most Java and Microsoft tools can't even
> open.)  Though I am new to Squeak, it so far looks like an extremely robust platform that is

Interesting performance report.

> also business friendly.  
> 
> I have some serious questions...
> 
> 1) Are there many other commercially sold (non-smalltalk-programming) apps using Squeak as a
> base? 

Nope, not many. :-) But a few I guess, and there have been some valiant attempts before the
crash-boom-of-everything-remotely-connected-to-Internet. And Squeak should be very suitable as a
productbase.

> 2) It looks like there is no good way to access a database from Squeak (probably ODBC).  Is this
> true?  I am also interested in integrating database access into a Wiki.  I thought I saw
> something about Squeak and MySQL, but I couldn't find it.

As far as I know there are "drivers" available for MySQL and PostgreSQL. And a GemStone/S "driver"
too. And MinneStore. And ImageSegments can also be used for very simple persistence needs. And
Stephen Pair is doing some cool stuff that I can't say anything about. Ooops, it just jumped out!
:-) I don't think he minds. How is that going btw?

> 3) I am interested in creating a mechanism (that remains legally open like Squeak) to allow
> integrating GhostScript output into Squeak (.PS/.PDF -> Morphic bitmaps).  Does anyone else
> care?

Don't know. :-) But it sounds useful. I think.

> 4) It looks like the Squeak license would require us to turn over all classes we created back to
> squeak.org, which is okay.  We would probably deploy our proprietary software components as VM
> plug-ins.  Are there any other such commercial plug-ins?  It looks like this plug-in approach
> would not violate the license???

You have got this wrong. Only extensions to the base classes needs to be under SqueakL. (But I
don't think you need to transfer your rights of that code to Apple - don't remember exactly what
the license says right now). Anyway - 95% of your code is probably not improvements to the base
classes - and that code is yours and yours alone and you can pick your own license for it. But if
you want your code to be included in the standard base image we have more or less agreed that it
then should be licensed under SqueakL too. For simplicity - we don't want multiple licenses in the
base image.

So in short - you don't need to make plugins for any license reasons. Plugins are mostly needed
for two uses:

1. To reuse external code written in other languages (libraries, calls to the OS etc)
2. To get the performance of C in tight bottleneck code.

> 5) Does Squeak support real-time, network-based message passing between running Squeaks?

Well, depending on your definition of "real-time"... But sure, there are a lot of different
packages (more or less functional) similar to Javas RMI or CORBA. And you can always very easily
make your own Socket protocol - we do and it's dead simple to do Socket programming in Squeak. And
performance is often much better with a dedicated protocol.

> 6) What's the best documentation for Squeak (if any)?

I would recommend the two available books from Mark Guzdial (have them both) and also a
subscription to SqueakNews - lots of good stuff on those monthly CDs. Apart from that, take a good
look on the Swiki and of course - in the image itself.

> Thanks

No problem.

regards, Göran

=====
Göran Hultgren, goran.hultgren at bluefish.se
GSM: +46 70 3933950, http://www.bluefish.se
"Department of Redundancy department." -- ThinkGeek

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