running image on another computer

Eliot & Linda elcm at pacbell.net
Fri Apr 10 20:16:39 UTC 1998


BAVECO wrote:
> 
> I tried to run my image from another computer on the network (with the VM
> copied to this other computer). It works OK, except that sources and changes
> files are not available: Squeak looks for these files on the machine where the
> VM is (more or less hard-coded by appending imagename.changes to
> "SystemDictionary vmFile"). Wouldn't it be reasonable to take the location of
> the image file as the default location to look for changes and sources files,
> instead of the location of the VM?
> How hard would it be to change to current setting?

Take a look in VisualWorks 3.0 at PortableFilename and LogicalFilename. 
We were faced with the problem of moving an image between machines when
it has loaded an arbitrary number of parcels, each with its own source
file.  Some parcel sources might be in the same directory as the image,
but most would be loaded from "standard" locations.  By naming sources
via symbolic names (environment variables or registruy entries) one can
set the values of these variables appropriately on each system you move
the image to and hence one doesn't have to change names.

An example would be the standard source file whose filename is
	'$(VISUALWORKS)\image\visual.sou' asLogicalFileSpecification

These filenames have worked-out extremely well.  Since VW3.0 I've not
had to adjust the name of a single source file, and a number of my
images have 10 or so associated source files.

P.S.  Since we haven't released on PowerMac yet I'd be interested in
knowing how those of you who use macs think such variables would be
maintained on the mac.  On Unix we use the shell/process environment; on
Windows NT/'95 we use the registry backed-up by the environment.
_______________,,,^..^,,,_______________
Eliot





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