[Help-smalltalk] (no subject)

[Bill Schwab]

Paolo, Stephen,

Thanks for your replies.  The only disagreement we have so far would
over the "vs." aspect of my decision.  From my perspective, it is a big
decision with lots of lost work if I make a bad choice, and I must
approach it like a business decision (which in fact it is).  Beyond
that, sure, live and let write software.

A few random thoughts:

Database connectivity: MySQL is the one to do :)  It would also be nice
to have ODBC capability.  Drats - make that a must (I have to talk to
Oracle too).  I am not a big user of RDBs, but they do some things
_very_ well.  Also, the rest of the world uses them (even when they are
not a good fit), and the ability to spin off Access databases as
snapshots has been quite helpful for collaboration.  With good external
call capabilities, an ODBC layer is just a matter of some work.

SSL - that's ok, Squeak does not really have them either, though I
suspect it will via the crypto group.  There is always stunnel too,
though I prefer to have zero chance of configuration mistakes leading to
use of clear text communications.  There is always OpenSSL and FFI.

Seaside?  That means you are doing continuations.

Clearly licensing will require some investigation.  I would be a fool to
shun VW for runtime fees, only to use something that (forgive the
alarmism for example's sake) makes everything I write open to the world.
 That won't be the case, but I do need to ensure that I can: (1) create
and use software for commercial purposes; (2) be able sell/license said
software.  I have no problem with giving away improvements to the system
itself, and would want to do so because it would enhance a system in
which I would have a considerable investment of time and money.  Suppose
we want to climb three separate mountains, but need to cross another
range to get to them; I am suggesting that we collaborate freely to
cross the first range, and then have the option to sell our respective
IMAX movies :)

I strongly recommend finishing the graphical environment.  The essential
components for the IDE are the browser, inspector, notifier (ok so far)
and (ouch!!!) debugger.  The latter is really the star of the show, and
(forgive me) you do not have a complete Smalltalk system without it.  As
I said, I am not an XP advocate, but they get several things right, and
working in the debugger is one of the gems.  A file-out mechanism should
be easy enough to create.  Harder is to do packaging (witness the
ongoing struggle in Squeak with dependency).  The Dolphin approach is to
force the user to define package boundaries; we get by just fine w/o a
change sorter.

Stephen, re the OS, I do not so much care that it is free as robust,
well-maintained, easy to use, predictable, and driven by those
objectives rather than to maximize market churn.  Linux seems like a
good choice.

Thanks!

Bill



Wilhelm K. Schwab, Ph.D.
University of Florida
Department of Anesthesiology
PO Box 100254
Gainesville, FL 32610-0254

Email: address@hidden
Tel: (352) 846-1285
FAX: (352) 392-7029