Hi all,

An interesting path to be explored can be the generation
of images inside running images (called image gestation).

I have built many images and cross-VM images
(e.g. building new smalltalk 3D ambiences for
entertrainment industry, when we didn´t have
a running VM), resulting in interesting images
from 80kb -for helloWorld on console- to
complete running application environments.

The technique start from gestation of a minimum
environment inside a running host; and use the
host´s tools (browsers and inspectors, & automated
nutrition tools) to put methods inside the child image.
Then a system tracer is run to dump child image
contents (patching and cutting references to host
image) and doing custom primitive transforms if
required (e.g. when generating cross image development)

I have encountered that building images by gestation
is much more easy than shrinking running images;
because you build the image in a constructive
manner (on real running requirements) and not by
reduction.

One of the most valuable nutrient tools has been
method tracers that register method activations.
They can be used to record the methods requiered
while evaluating an expression in the host image,
and then inject the collected methods (and classes)
onto the child image.

More details and samples can be found at
http://www.aleReimondo.com.ar/ImageGestation

best,
Ale.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Badger" <bwbadger@...>
To: "Vwnc" <vwnc@...>
Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 5:24 PM
Subject: Re: AW: Runtime obesity


On 08/03/06, Charles A. Monteiro <charles@...> wrote:

> So I'm game if anybody is interested, Bruce perhaps :)

Sure!

I think a build-up BOF would be fairly short, though:

Users: "We want a smaller better understood base.im"

Cincom: "We know. We're working on it."

All: "Beer!"

Perhaps a BOF on "Deployment" would be the way to go. Then we can
talk about the base.im for the first 10 seconds, and then talk about
RTP and perhaps get input from people using other Smalltalk
implementations too.

All the best,
Bruce
--
Make the most of your skills - with OpenSkills
http://www.openskills.org/