On Thu, Sep 22, 2005 at 12:01:58PM -0700, Ross Boylan wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 21, 2005 at 07:36:39AM -0400, David T. Lewis wrote:
> > The OSProcessPlugin, XDisplayControlPlugin, and AioPlugin plugins are
> > now updated for the 64-bit Squeak VM. They compile, run, and pass all
> > OSProcess/CommandShell unit tests.
> > 
> > Testing was done on both 32 bit Squeak and 64 bit Squeak image/VM, as
> > well as on both 32 bit and 64 bit hardware (Intel and AMD hardware with
> > Linux). They can be built on the latest (64-bit capable) VMMaker and
> > SubVersion sources, and also on older sources such as the source bundles
> > from Ian's web site.
> > 
> > These are available on SqueakMap.
> > 
> > Dave
> 
> This seems to have two implications, both of which are news to me:
> * 64 bit squeak is buildable and operational
> * current svn head and latest VMMaker get you there.
> 
> Are either of those interpretations correct?

64-bit Squeak is buildable and operational, although many of the plugins
that you might expect on Squeak have not been updated, and there will
very likely be problems that have not yet been detected simply because
it has not been heavily used yet.

My work with OSPP was done with a reasonably recent SVN source tree and
VMMaker, plus a couple of patches that I had to add to get things working.
I expect that if you get the "current" versions as of today, there will
probably still be a couple of tweaks needed to get things running. Also,
if you are running on an Intel box, you'll need to do some work to get
a runnable 64 bit image, because the old one on the web site does not
work with current VMs, and the SystemTracer does not work on Intel boxes
(nevertheless, it is possible to get it working).

> I'm not immediately planning to do squeak on 64 bits, but I'm very
> interested if building a current VM just got easier :)

No, it's not suddenly easier. Yes, it does work just fine once you
have it running.

You should do a 64-bit VM if you find the project interesting, or if
you want to help finish up the plugin ports. You should not do it if
you are expecting it to be user friendly or free of aggrivation. There
is no quality assurance department, and there are no sales droids to
complain to if you don't like what you get. It's just us mice.

Dave