[ANN] Bootstrapped kernel image

Pavel Krivanek squeak1 at continentalbrno.cz
Tue Oct 18 09:42:37 UTC 2005


>>Hi all,
>>
>>I have prepared an experimental kernel image based on Squeak 3.7.
>>
>>Properties:
>>- size: 1.3 MB
>>- no Morphic
>>- no MVC
>>- no Sound
>>- no Network
>>- no Browser, Debugger etc.
>>- no SUnit
>>- no Projects support (there’s only one default project)
>>- only necessary processes
>>- no ObsoleteClasses (consistent references in sources)
>>- single font
>>- simple console with clipboard support
>>- transcript output (with file log)
>>- transparent creation mechanism
>>    
>>
>
>Hoorah! Yay for small images! :-)
>
>Can you take this and install everything again back to the level of a
>'basic' Squeak image?
>
>Is there a plan to adopt a small image (such as this) as the official
>"tiny" image from which the larger images are built?
>
>Mikevdg.
>
Sorry, but I have to say that it’s not possible, at least now.

1) It’s based on Squeak 3.7 and the upgrade to Squeak 3.8 is complicated 
with m17n integration (that has moreover undergone heavy quake before 
final release)
2) As you can see, Squeak can have separable kernel, but its 
architecture is not ready for safe loading of top level packages. This 
packages (like Morphic) are often very insensitively embedded in kernel
3) The code is often not modular. The classical example is construction 
isMorphic ifTrue: [ do something with Morphic ] ifFalse: [ do something 
with MVC]. There’s no space for another UI (like Tweak or wxSqueak) or 
no UI.
4) This step requires support of whole community and massive painful 
refactoring

So the question is, do we want Squeak with minimal kernel and packages? 
Do not say yes promptly because this architecture is in fact not very 
familiar with Smalltalk philosophy. 

If we say yes, then we have to specify general kernel architecture and 
properties. It’s useless to try to prepare similar kernel for Squeak 3.9 
without vision. Locus classicus: "This calls for immediate discussion!" ;-)

-- Pavel



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