Building spec images is a very interesting idea.
The very hard problem is figuring out the declaration
of the initializers for the kernel image program.

A more modest undertaking would be the construction
of ImageSegments from Smalltalk Interchange Format
Program files.

Anyone interested???

John "Metacircular fixed points can be our friends." Sarkela
john_sarkela at 4thEstate.com

self initialize
"The image is a 'garden of eden'. It is the case that always and forever
there existed a class Metaclass instantiated from an instance of itself."


"R. A. Harmon" wrote:

> Why not build an image instead of strip one?  Specify the stuff you want and
> you won't miss something and leave it in.  Stripping an image always seemed
> a lot harder task than building one.
>
> At 05:56 PM 10/18/99 -0600, Edward P Luwish wrote:
> >Chris Reuter wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Basically, it would trace the first object (AppMainClass), then trace
> >> everything it references, then trace everything they reference and so
> >> on until all references are resolved at which point it throws away
> >> everything else.
> >
> >One of the problems here is "everything it references".  Unless your method
> is an
> >entire interpreter unto itself, it will not know whether conditional blocks are
> >executed.  Therefore, it will not know that a method is bypassed and thus not
> >"really" referenced.  One of the first lines in Controller's initialization
> code
> >sends a message to MorphicWorld if a certain class variable is true (I'm really
> >reaching here - I haven't read the code in a while, forgive me).  The pruning
> >method would therefore include almost all the Morphic classes even if the
> >standalone application is purely MVC.  There are many other examples of this in
> >the sources - I think the pluggable classes would pull in a lot of stuff
> whether
> >you actually use it or not.
> >
> >I think the application would actually have to run, perhaps in a simulator,
> (and
> >all of its legitimate code paths traversed) in order to mark all the objects it
> >really references.
> >
> >I hope I'm wrong, because I'm really interested in minimal implementations.
> >
> >Ed
> >
> >
> >
> --
> Richard A. Harmon          "The only good zombie is a dead zombie"
> harmonra at webname.com           E. G. McCarthy
> Spencer, Iowa