Re: [Help-smalltalk] Having a bytcode loader

[Paolo Bonzini]

On 05/27/2010 11:52 AM, Mathieu Suen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a little bit of free time so I decided to try implementing a
> bytecode loader and dumper. So I have a couple of question on what
> would be the right interface. And how people want this kind of
> feature.
>
> First do we wanted inside the *.st file or have it like in elisp a
> kind of *.stc file?

I think a *.stc file like Python and elisp would be better.  The right 
interface IMO would be:

1) a gst-compile script to compile a .st file to .stc.  This could reuse 
some of the infrastructure in gst-convert.

2) gst-package would check if a .stc file is present every time a .st 
file is put in an archive, and put the .stc file too.

3) Similarly, the PackageLoader would check if a .stc file is present 
and "file it in" too.  I'm not sure whether the same file in primitive 
would be used for filein, or a different one.

> I part from that I have look at the ObjectDumper class. I wonder if
> that could help for building the bytcode dumper.

Maybe.  However, first of all I'd start by profiling a large filein 
(Seaside) and see whether time is spent in Smalltalk or C code.

Paolo