On Wed, 2008-11-26 at 12:12 -0800, marcomaggi wrote: > On Nov 26, 10:58 am, Abdulaziz Ghuloum <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Some people might have two > > versions of Ikarus: a 32-bit version and a 64-bit version on the > > same machine. Modifying the library source codes by embedding > > offsets and sizes as constant literals is far from harmless. > > I never used a 64 bits system, but it is my understanding that if > one wants to have 2 Ikaruses, one 32b and one 64b, he has to > install both versions of all the foreign C language libraries. Am > I wrong? 2 gmp, 2 libffi, 2 libwhatever... > > And the libraries have to have different installation directories > or different names (what a joy to link them)? > > So, Ikarus or not one already has a mess to deal with.
But there doesn't need to be 2 copies of the Scheme libraries. The Scheme libraries should use a properly abstracted high-level FFI library that knows whether it's on 32-bit or 64-bit and uses this knowledge to select the corresponding configurations. How these configurations get created for specific foreign libraries and how the high-level FFI library finds them and correlates them with the high-level client Scheme library defining the foreign interface, remains to be figured out but it's certainly possible. > That said, let me build a Nausicaa version 0.1 that works > before the end of the year. Will you? Sure. We just don't want you to waste your time on something other Schemers aren't going to want to use. But you're right -- you haven't even finished 0.1 or encountered all the issues, and you seem new to Scheme (2 years for me, and I'm still new), so we should be patient, and projects are for personal satisfaction and exploration too. -- : Derick ----------------------------------------------------------------
