At 11:54 PM -0700 on 7/9/99, Michael Fair wrote:
>I am looking for a team of people willing to explore a
>different approach to what we are currently doing.
>
>Here would be my initial plan of attack for the
>
>Take the Python (www.python.org) interpreter and revamp
>the syntax to be as xTalk like as possible.
>This would be the heart of the LGPL Embeddable
>interpreter and become the base code.
If you took the Perl one isntead, you'd also get the Perl compiler, the
MacPerl port, the Windows Perl ports, and the Unix versions. It's also
under a much more liberal licence, the Perl Artistic.
>
>Next port wxPython (http://alldunn.com/wxPython/) to use
>the new syntax and throw some Mac programmers on the
>wxWindows project.
Perl would need to be expanded to support wxWindows, but that is not too
hard: It's already been expanded, in the MacPerl port, to support the
toolbox.
>
>Begin programming the object hierarchical message passing
>infrastructure and "stack" library in the new OpenTalk
>language. This gives us our familiar stack based card
>metaphor of objects and commands and gives the xTalk
>languages a new reputation for procedural programming.
Perl is already OO, so it is probably fairly easy there.
>
>Finally add the ability to create executables that know how
>to load and run their own stacks and call it version 1.0.
>Start going public everywhere I can touting how we used
>already existing packages and can run on Windows, Mac,
>and Linux, generate interest in porting many of the other
>Python modules like Com and ActiveX, the Distributed
>Networking stuff, all the multimedia libraries, the LDAP
>stuff.
Plenty of stuff for Perl, too. Plus you get soem very nice regexp support :)
>I don't think this approach any easier or harder than
>rolling our own like we are doing now, it's just different.
I think you'll change your mind when you see ten megs of code sitting
there, staring at you, asking: Where do you want to start <g>.
>It solves some critical problems easily, but creates others.
>However it is the method that I think is the superior one.
An egcs frontend would be nice while we're at it :)
