Re: [DotGNU]RE: Java issues.

[Norbert Bollow]

Aisha Fenton <address@hidden> wrote:

> >>There has been some talk about whether or not the Java platform should be
> >>considered for DotGNU, and some talk about whether or not we should
> >>deviate from Microsoft.NET's ECMA specifications...  
> 
> What has been decided for this? Will we use Java?

For what it's worth, the "DotGNU core team" (consisting of David
Sugar, Enzo-Adrian Reyes aka Myrddian, Barry Fitzgerald and
myself) has decided to endorse a two-track approach, with one
track based on Java and the other track based on C# and IL.

Of course we are only four people and we cannot implement it all
ourselves.  Each of the tracks will happen only if and when it
succeeds in attracting enough developers.

That is good.

If the Java track does not attract enough developers then we can
think about another alternative to the C# and IL track.  We
certainly need an alternative in case of dirty tricks from
Microsoft on the lincensing front.

If the C# and IL track does not attract enough developers yet,
then we can keep it low-profile until .NET starts taking off.
(I personally wouldn't mind if .NET never takes off, but I don't
dare risking to bet on it.)

Completely unrelated to this two-track approach, Charles Iliya
Krempeaux <address@hidden> has recently started posting some very
interesting, good ideas to the DotGNU ARCH mailing list (see
http://dotgnu.org/mailman/listinfo/arch ) on the matter of
virtual machine design.  I urge everyone to first consider if
there is something that you would like to work on among of the
things that are of strategic importance for DotGNU.  But if
there is nothing in that area that you really want to work on,
and you want to work on creating a new virtual machine, then
there is certainly room within the DotGNU framework for you to
work on that.  And who knows, if (for whatever reason) we get
stuck with either the Java track or with the C# and IL track,
maybe the new bytecode system design will get promoted to "top
priority".

Greetings, Norbert.

-- 
Norbert Bollow, Weidlistr.18, CH-8624 Gruet  (near Zurich, Switzerland)
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