Re: GNUstep and MacOS X Port Effort

[Perrone Alessandro]

Hi
> As I result of a general lack of interest some weeks back, I got to be
> coordinator for the MacOS X port.

OK, In my opionion there's not lack of interest, the problem is that 
there are not a lot of programmers under MacOsX. A lot of people are 
only "end-user".
I know objc, and I program Mac since a few year, and I could give you 
all the help you need. I know several people who can give me an hand 
to program, even if they are not Macintosh users, but they are 
programmers as job.


> There seeems to have been much fairly enthusiastic discussion amongst
> various programmers regarding the merits of rewriting Swarm on the GNUstep
> foundation.

All I'd like to have,  is an executable version of Swarm, in "short 
time".  If this means to rewrite Swarm on GnuStep/Project Builder, 
that's ok.

> 2.  Objectives (Wish list) in no particular order
> a. Swarm should be simple to install on any 'standard' GNUstep or MacOS X
> system.  Other than GNUstep the only other non-standard item should be
> hdf5 if it is required.

The easy or difficult of installation will be a further problem. You 
can build the Rpm, or img files.
First of all it should be good to have a "working alpha version", 
then we'll decide how to install it.

> b.  To facilitate the above, Swarm should not make any C calls into the
> 'runtime'.

ok

> c.  The phasic object system should be preserved and possiby elaborated.

In a first stage, it should be preserved, then, maybe, elaborated.

> d.  The GNUstep/Cocoa classes should provide the GUI eliminating
> dependence on Tcl/Tk/BLT

Are you sure? The compilation of tcl/tk/blt under XWindow is not 
difficult. Maybe in a second stage, we could eliminte the "tcl/tk/blt 
X-window calls" and use the MacOsX graphical features.

> e.  As many basic classes as possible should come from the standard
> libraries, to maximise the benefit from work done by others.

I agree with you

> f.  Wherever possible existing APIs should be supported even if deprecated
> for new modelling.

I agree with you

> 3.  Observations
> a.  Marcus has observed that the purpose of the mframe stuff in the
> runtime is to support the link between Java and ObjC.  GNUstep and Cocoa
> already contain such a link.  Indeed Apple has put a lot of development
> effort into this.  We should use this and scrap mframe which is a nasty
> machine specific klugeTM.

ok

> b.  Being totally Gatesophobic, I have no idea how this plays on Windoze.
> Is there a workable Cygwin/GNUstep installation available?

Our main problem is to do a GnuStep-Swarm for OsX. Once it'll be 
ready, we'll think about a WIndoze/Linux version.

> c.  The above scenario is based on a possibly unfounded belief that
> GNUstep and MacOS X/Cocoa have a large degree of source code compatability
> at the level we would require for Swarm.  Any comments?

What exaclty do you mean?

> d.  Method functions are incompatable with the above objectives as well as
> being abhorrent to any OO believer.  They should be given a decent burial.
> e.  On the MacOS X front, none of the above removes the need to get a
> basic Swarm on XFree86 running as a learning exercise.

Perfect. Icompletely  agree.

> f.  The root object of Swarm is Object which maybe can be built by
> extending NSObject, which makes the above at least faintly plausible.
I think yes.
Regards.
                                ALEX

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