Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
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From: Stephan Meyn <s.meyn@oose.com.au>
Subject: Re: Why Java and not Smalltalk
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Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 00:29:31 GMT
References: <4act39$1g0@nico.bway.net>  <4adkd5$a2r@newsbf02.news.aol.com> <NEWTNews.819407254.2035.sellers@sellers.sellers.com>
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John Sellers wrote:
> 
> In Article<4adkd5$a2r@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, <bytesmiths@aol.com> writes:
> > ...
> > Perhaps not all that ambitious. If I were doing it, I'd simply generate
> > Java Bytecodes from Smalltalk. No one need ever see Java source-code,
> even
> > while debugging, if it is done that way. It would take a new compiler
> > back-end, which might take a few weeks, but it isn't rocket science!
> >
> > Jan
> > ...
> 
> Generating Java Bytecodes is the recommended approach.  This was told to me
> by one of the head developers working for Bill Joy, Mr. Java himself,
> formerly Mr. Unix.

I don't think this all that simple. Does Java do message sends with lookups as 
Smalltalk or do they have a fixed dispatch table like C++? In the latter you 
would have to extend the virtual java engine to support method dispatching and 
lookup, together with 'doesNotUnderstand' processing, etc.
