Hi Laurent,
I _may_ be able to help here.
What Kasper is proposing is, essentially, a Newton virtual machine written
in Java.
And this could be done...with caveats.
1. Java, in most versions, is an interpretive language. Therefore, the
emulation would be necessarily slow.
2. A native Java compiler could deal with this, but that would have to be
ported to each individual platform, and these could *not* be done in Java,
since Java is not a "fertile" language. C or assembler could be used to
develop the compiler ports, but...WOW!, what a job.
3. Complicating this the fact that NewtonScript is also a interpretive
language and therefore not blindingly fast in it's current versions. This
is why the Newton C libraries were built for, speed.
4. There are some current PDAs that use JavaOS and the JDK; one that comes
to mind is the Japanese BossaNova
(http://www.pfu.co.jp/BossaNova/Specifications_e.html).
5. There are several small-footprint Java initiatives, like Sun's Jini,
Aplix, and others. Some are designed for embedded systems, similar to the
NewtonOS in ROM.
IF some of these issues could be dealt with, combining the work David has
done in Python, add in an HWR engine like Rosetta based on the work of Larry
Yaeger and the ATG (http://www.beanblossom.in.us/larryy/ANHR.html), code it
in portable Java, et viola! Freeze-dried Newton...Just add hardware! :)
Hmmm...
Regards,
Gary
----Original Message Follows----
From: "Laurent Daudelin" <laurent_daudelin@fanniemae.com>
To: <newtontalk@planetnewton.com>
Subject: Re: SV: NTLK NEWTON/MESSAGEPAD Future Platform
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 10:20:36 -0500
Kasper Jeppesen wrote:
> > NEWTONTALK Community
> > Instead of an EMULATOR what about a new "open" PLATFORM based on the
> > basic concepts (UI, Programming, FormFactor) of NEWTON and the
> > MESSAGEPAD??? There still is no real competition and there doesn't
> > appear to be anything coming...
>
> Ok.. here we go...
> I wrote a message to the list some time ago anouncing that I was
commencing
> the design of a newton replacement pda.. My plan was to do this as
<snip>... I propose that the new PDA is initially build fully in Personal
> Java...
> This will give us a wide range of hardware to run it on.
That's a good idea, however, maybe I'm missing something, but how, after
getting
this platform concept out the door, are you going to have hardware to run
it? Do
you mean porting it to any PDA platform available? I'm not sure, but that's
seem
like a lot of work.
Basically, how this platform would be supported on different hardware?
-Laurent.
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