On Tue, 10 Apr 2001, Jeff Szuhay wrote:

> >I think the SqueakNOS project is the ultimate in cool here. Who
> >need an os when you got Squeak ?
> >squaknos.sourceforge.net
>
> Yes, this is the ultimate cool.
>
> I was also thinking that putting squeak on a microkernel OS
> (Darwin, Hurd, GnuStep) would be even cooler than on a
> monolithic one: Linux, etc.).  Oops! ... just stepped on a "flame war"
> mine;
> my bad.

I think this micro-war has happened a couple times, at least while I've
been on the list. :)  One reason that I do like the Squeak community so
much is that it never does turn into any kind of flame war... It usually
amounts to: "eh, do what you will, I'll do what I do."

A microkernel OS would definately be cooler than Linux, and a No-OS would
be ever better, but I'm thinking in practical terms...  Linux would
provide us the ability to run on many platforms (like the OS-requiring
version of Squeak now) and provide us with drivers galore.

Something that could be pretty cool that one couldn't get as easily as
with a SqueakNOS is having a C-compiler.  It'd be *way* cool to have a
plug-in/driver IDE all in Squeak. From Slang to binaries- be them
executables, libraries or kernel modules/extensions- all within the Squeak
environment.  Make it all a front end on gcc and gdb.  It wouldn't be
Smalltalk, but it would beat having to quit Squeak (or switch to a
terminal from the frame buffer), do all of your editing in
pico/emacs/pico, compiling debugging and then returning to Squeak.  Just
an idea...

Aaron

Aaron Reichow  ::  Twin Ports ACM VP ::  http://www.d.umn.edu/~reic0024/
"The profit system follows the path of least resistance and following the
path of least resistance is what makes a river crooked." -U. Utah Phillips