On Thu, 16 Dec 2004 16:02:14 -0800, Michael Latta <lattam at mac.com> wrote:

> That would be my advice also.  Decouple the release of the core  
> components from the "application" components.  Just as I can not assume  
> that application X can run in the next release of OS/X without testing  
> or vendor assurances, the same is true of Squeak.  The fact that the  
> core developers have source for the applications does not change the  
> responsibilities.  Each package should go through release cycles just  
> like the core.  If you release a 3.9 base image with just tools, then  
> each application package can be migrated to operate on top of it.  The  
> end result is that some applications will lag more than others.  Some  
> applications will release new versions at the same time as core  
> releases.  It just depends on how actively they are maintained.  But,  
> you can not assume all packages will run on the new release.
>
> This is not unique to smalltalk.  I do not assume my Objective-C code  
> works on a new release of OS/X.  I do not assume my Java code runs on a  
> new release of OS/X, Windows, the JDK, etc.

On the contrary, although other Java commercial offerings may not, new  
version of the JDK (JSDK or whatever they call it now) and core language  
is actually rather backwards-compatible. In fact, many people have argued  
that this is seriously limiting the language's progress.

-- 
Regards
HweeBoon
MotionObj