[Vm-dev] [Pharo-dev] 32 bits and 64 bits VM

[David T. Lewis]

On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 06:26:42PM +0200, Bert Freudenberg wrote:
> 
> It would be more accurate to classify VMs by the image types they support, and architecture they run on (leaving out the issue of OS). E.g. it is inaccurate to say "Cog supports 32 bit images on a 32 bit machine" because it does not support pre-closure interpreter images even though they are 32 bits, and it only works on the x86 architecture, soon ARM 32 bits, but not e.g. PowerPC or MIPS 32 bits, which are supported by the interpreter VMs.
> 

Ideally we will evolve to the point where the fastest available VM will
be selected for the image format being read, thus Spur else Cog else StackInterpreter
else Interpreter selected at runtime. A bit more work needs to be done on merging
code bases, but I think it is a reasonable goal.

Dave