Hi Casey--

> I've seen a *wealth* of *great* ideas about how to do namespaces in
> Squeak... but I've only seen one working implementation... Is the
> approach suggested in your paper something I can currently download
> and install?

     Yes: http://netjam.org/spoon/releases/current/.

     It's not finished, particularly with regard to what "download and
install" means. :)

> It looks like Naiad means I'd have to give up my .sources and
> .changes files, is this correct?

     No, you don't have to give them up (you could use them for the sake
of redundancy, for example), but it does give you something better, I think.

> I might do that if I got namespaces back in exchange.

     Well, you do get the freedom to name any class anything you want,
the ability to distinguish between different versions of each class, and
a means of organizing, discovering, and sharing code.

> I will spend some time reading your paper tonight :)

     Thanks!

> I guess I should just out and say it: I don't see a shortage of
> proposals around here, I see a shortage of consensus and a shortage of
> implementation.

     Indeed. As with most people, for me that follows directly from a
lack of resources (having to spend time on paid work). It's also an
ambitious project. I understand that most people will only be interested
in evaluating the ideas after I have managed to put the time into
implementing them, but I still think it's valuable to seek feedback from
the few who are interested before then, so I'm less likely to go off in
some completely ridiculous direction. At this point, I know very well
what I want from the system, but I'd like constant calibration with
others' desires through dialogue.

> I care less about what the approach is than I care about whether or
> not I can use it now, which I believe puts me in the minority on
> squeak-dev!

     Actually, that seems like the majority view to me. :)


     thanks again,

-C

--
Craig Latta
www.netjam.org/resume
+31  06 2757 7177
+ 1 415  287 3547