At 09:28 AM 10/1/99 +0200, Martin Luptak wrote:
... What about idea putting Java into Smalltalk. Either Java VM running in Smalltalk, or encapsulation Java object into Smalltalk (they could live in one space - image, integrating their object models), or some other kinds of emulation/integration Java in ST environment. Doesn't someone know about projects concerning this?
In addition to Smalltalk/X, which others have mentioned, there have been at least two other major efforts to host Java within a Smalltalk environment.
The most successful such system is surly IBM's VisualAge for Java. While IBM does not actively publicize these fact, it is not a secret that VisualAge for Java is build upon a Smalltalk base. A common virtual machine is used to execute both Smalltalk and Java code and control flow can transfer between Java and Smalltalk methods. I believe that if you could look under the covers you would find that many Java "native methods" are in fact implemented in Smalltalk. The majority of the development environment is implemented in Smalltalk code.
Objectshare Inc developed to a working prototype of a system called Frost that also combined Java and Smalltalk within a single image using a single virtual machine. It worked by translating Java methods into Smalltalk bytecode. A short description of Frost can still be found on the Objectshare web site at: http://www.objectshare.com/products/frost/frost897.htm
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