[squeak-dev] Re: documentation on squeak vm api

Markus Fritsche fritsche.markus at gmx.net
Fri Oct 17 21:11:50 UTC 2008


Kjell Godo schrieb:
> So where do I start to study the VM?
> i have heard about a VM simulator inside of Squeak.
> But I don't know offhand where it is at in there.

VMMaker in squeaksource. Squeak is (should be ;-)) implemented in
itself, which means, there's a platform skeleton (platform source files
for windows, linux, bsd, osx, etc. pp.) but the heart of squeak is
implemented it smalltalk itself. Smalltalk meaning, there is a smalltalk
subset implent(izable)ed to be executed within smalltalk. That is, for
my understanding, the Interpreter. A smalltalk implementation which is
able to read and execute an image within itself.

So loading the VMMaker image gives you the oppurtunity to bootstrap
squeak in itself.

> What do you think about Exupery?

The way to go.

> Could this eventually be used to output the VM?

The VM always will be the VM. The virtual machine. Question is how to
map the "virtual machine" to the "actual machine"...

> It would be cool if everything you need to make a VM for a platform
> were zipped into the VM maker for that platform including the right
> gcc and everything.  The VM maker would unzip it all and install it.
> Or download it for you and install it.  If you already had a C setup
> you could cancel the new gcc install.

For my knowledge, the windows gcc setup is fairly old, otoh, the windows
gcc setup (msys, mingw) as nearly-to-aboned right now.


> I am not a C programmer but I can read it somewhat.

I whish I could read macro assembler code too ;-)




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