etoys now available in Debian's non-free repository

[Yoshiki Ohshima]

  Albert,

> You'd be all set if you had Smalltalk source code that you
> could feed into any random Smalltalk system to create
> your build tools.
>
> While I happen to like C, and it's a very popular way to
> achieve the required ability to bootstrap, it isn't needed.
> You even get a certain amount of respect from writing
> the whole thing in Smalltalk. Use GNU Smalltalk.

  Your view on systems are way too limited.  Where did this "any
random Smalltalk" came from?  For example, if you write a GUI
application in Python, it doesn't mean that it only uses standard
Python's features.  It certainly is going to use GTK or some other GUI
bindings.  Then, you cannot feed it to another Python implementation
that doesn't have it.

  Please just don't make up new "complaint" whenever the old one
didn't work.

> You might even scrape by with Squeak building itself.
> (not involving "copy the currently running image")
> If you can create a new image from loose UTF-8 text
> files and standard media files, without any data being
> swiped from the currently running image, then you've
> met the requirement.

  Not to mention that don't make up "requirement".

> > http://users.ipa.net/~dwighth/squeak/oopsla_squeak.html
> 
> That's in interesting read.

  The trouble is that people make such wrong claims before reading
such a basic document.

> It does admit to depending on a system image from decades ago:
> 
> "Alter the ST-80 SystemTracer to write an image in the new format."
> "no longer needing to port images forward from Apple Smalltalk"

  And?

> > What is the source management system for the Etoys and Squeak VMs? Is
> > _everything_ done in Smalltalk and kept in the image file? Wait, I see
> > it. http://www.squeakvm.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/. Albert?
> 
> That appears to be the OS interface layer. No problem there.
> Feel free to write that in Smalltalk instead though.

  Vast majority part in this repository is written in Smalltalk.
Please understand the problem before spreading wrong impressions.

> The really important thing is an ability to generate
> everything from source. That means you can create a new
> image without grabbing bits from an existing image.

  But after seeing my big C file idea:

-----
  unsigned char image[] = {0x12, 0x34, <goes to 1 million entries or so>};

int
main()
{
   FILE *image = fopen("etoys.image", "w");
   fwrite(image, sizeof(image), 1, image);
   fclose(image);
}
-----

then you will probably make up new "important thing".

-- Yoshiki