-->"Gary" == Gary Moody <gmoody@hotmail.com> writes:
Gary> Java, in most versions, is an interpretive language.
Gary> Therefore, the emulation would be necessarily slow.
it's also not clear what the benefits of writing in Java which
outweigh this (major) disadvantage are.
it's a good language, but the runtime systems are currently pretty
hopeless both in terms of speed and memory usage.
a careful set of C++ (ie. not excluding C ;-) can be equally portable
with a little discipline, and run easily 10 time faster. remember
that most of the speed improvements available for current JVMs rely on
increased memory usage.
Gary> A native Java compiler could deal with this, but that would
Gary> have to be ported to each individual platform, and these could
Gary> *not* be done in Java, since Java is not a "fertile"
Gary> language. C or assembler could be used to develop the compiler
Gary> ports, but...WOW!, what a job.
porting the code generator is less of an issue than porting the
runtime system, IMO. ie. threads, garbage collection, networking,
etc.
together, it's a very big job.
Gary> There are several small-footprint Java initiatives, like Sun's
Gary> Jini, Aplix, and others. Some are designed for embedded
Gary> systems, similar to the NewtonOS in ROM.
i've recently been looking at IBM's (well, OTI's) VisualAge Micro
Edition (www.embedded.oti.com). they've got a nice system, but i'm
still to be convinced that Java is a viable end-product language.
Gary> IF some of these issues could be dealt with, combining the
Gary> work David has done in Python, add in an HWR engine like
Gary> Rosetta based on the work of Larry Yaeger and the ATG
Gary> (http://www.beanblossom.in.us/larryy/ANHR.html), code it in
Gary> portable Java, et viola! Freeze-dried Newton...Just add
Gary> hardware! :)
i am encouraged by the recent activity within the developer
community. it's good to see several new people, and some substantial
achievements.
we are approaching a critical time when the current newtons begin to
break and people look for replacements. it would be nice to have
either a newton-compatible or at least newton-influenced system to
move to.
so it's good to see Kasper's efforts -- i hope they are successful!
as always, help with Gnuton would be very welcome ;-)
-- David Arnold ,=================================================
=================' +617 33654310 (voice)
CRC for Distributed Systems Technology +617 33654311 (fax)
University of Queensland d@pobox.com (email)
Australia <http://www.pobox.com/~d> (web)
want a free newton? see the GNUton project http://www.gnuton.com/
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