January 2012 - Pharo-dev - lists.pharo.org

Re: [Pharo-project] Bug in #pointsTo: ?

by Levente Uzonyi

On Sun, 8 Jan 2012, Mariano Martinez Peck wrote: >> >> Of course, but I'd check for the class equality first, because it's faster >> (yeah, i know you turned off inlining of #class, but Cog doesn't care about >> that ;)). > > > Are you sure Cog doesn't care? I think it does. From what I can see in Cog > code the entry point to inline #class is from the bytecoodes. If you see > initializeBytecodeTableForClosureV3 > ... > #(1 199 199 genSpecialSelectorClass needsFrameNever: notMapped 0). "not > mapped because it is directly inlined (for now)" > ... > > so if you use a the normal bytecode for #class then I think #class is not > inlined in machine code. At least from my tests I noticed that. I guess you're right. Levente > > Cheers > > > >> Another thing that you should add (besides tests of course) is >> SmallInteger >> #pointsTo: which should return false. Also make sure that >> pointer tracing tools use #pointsTo:. In Squeak I found that some of them >> "reinvented" this method... >> >> >> Levente >> >> >> >>> cheers >>> >>> -- >>> Mariano >>> http://marianopeck.wordpress.**com <http://marianopeck.wordpress.com> >>> >>> > > > -- > Mariano > http://marianopeck.wordpress.com >

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Pharo-project] Bug in #pointsTo: ?

by Levente Uzonyi

On Sun, 8 Jan 2012, Mariano Martinez Peck wrote: >> What I don't understand is why in Squeak it does work. >>> >> >> Because #pointsTo: is not used in Squeak (yet). As usual I dug deeper than >> I should have, so I'll publish a few changes soon. >> >> > Ok, you are right. Squeak #inboundPointersExcluding: is using > #instVarsInclude: rather than #pointsTo. And that solves the problem in > Pharo as well. But still, I would like to understand why we get those > method contexts with #pointsTo. Because #pointsTo: is a normal message send, it even sends other methods, so it will create contexts. > Thanks Levente for your help. If you find something let us know, I want to > learn :) I pushed my changes to the Squeak Inbox, which fully works around this issue. The changes about weak references can simply be removed if you don't like them, the rest will just work without them. Levente > > Thanks > > >> >> Levente >> >> >>> Thanks in advance Levente! >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> it will create at least one new MethodContext which is not included in >>>> that list. >>>> >>>> >>>> Levente >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Levente >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Thanks again. >>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Levente >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Do you mean what I understand :)? that some tools compiled methods? >>>>>>>> :) >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Stef >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Mariano >>>>>>>>> http://marianopeck.wordpress.********com < >>>>>>>>> http://marianopeck.wordpress. >>>>>>>>> **** >>>>>>>>> com <http://marianopeck.wordpress.****com<http://marianopeck.** >>>>>>>>> wordpress.com <http://marianopeck.wordpress.com>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> Mariano >>>>>>> http://marianopeck.wordpress.******com <http://marianopeck.wordpress. >>>>>>> **** >>>>>>> com <http://marianopeck.wordpress.**com<http://marianopeck.wordpress.com> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Mariano >>>>> http://marianopeck.wordpress.****com <http://marianopeck.wordpress.** >>>>> com <http://marianopeck.wordpress.com>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> Mariano >>> http://marianopeck.wordpress.**com <http://marianopeck.wordpress.com> >>> >>> >> > > > -- > Mariano > http://marianopeck.wordpress.com >

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Pharo-project] Small improvement for WriteStream >> nextPutAll:

by Henrik Sperre Johansen

On 09.01.2012 00:18, Eliot Miranda wrote: > > > On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 5:46 AM, Mariano Martinez Peck > <marianopeck(a)gmail.com <mailto:marianopeck@gmail.com>> wrote: > > Hi guys. Some time ago Henry spot to us a small improvement for > WriteStream >> nextPutAll: that we are using in Fuel, but I think > it can be general. Henry comment was exactly: > > /Also: For variableBytes classes, if you rewrite: > > WriteStream > nextPutAll: aCollection > > | newEnd | > *collection class instSpec == aCollection class instSpec ifFalse:* > [^ super nextPutAll: aCollection ]. > > newEnd := position + aCollection size. > newEnd > writeLimit ifTrue: > [self growTo: newEnd + 10]. > > collection replaceFrom: position+1 to: newEnd with: aCollection > startingAt: 1. > position := newEnd. > > ^ aCollection > > You can now pass all variableByte classes (Like ByteString) > directly to a stream with a ByteArray collection, and the > replaceFrom:to:with:/ > /startingAt: primitive will work correctly, just like the file > primitive does > This means you don't need special Serializers for these either, > using f.ex. clunky nextStringPutAll: methods with manual > asByteArray conversions./ > > > So...if you agree, I can commit the patch. > > > Surely this will break special encoded strings where the encode/decode > is done in at:/at:put:. Moving the bytes isn't safe in general. > However, if the programmer knows they themselves can use > next:putAll:startingAt: or some such. I don't think your suggestion > is safe in general for WriteStream. Instead if > next:putAll:startingAt: doesn't do the job invent some new protocol > that will. In principle I agree, though the only such case I can think of in an image atm is the newly introduced: wa := WordArray new: 2. ws := wa writeStream. ws nextPutAll: 1.0 The string example in itself is rather theoretical, the "convention" is to use ByteStrings for all encodings, and let the programmer fend for himself when it comes to remembering which ByteStrings he's converted to which encoding. (A practice which, sadly, is only enabled by the collection class = aCollection class check (the one in next:putAll:startingAt:), as encoding/decoding a ByteString to a ByteString is much faster than the equivalent operation resulting in a ByteArray... ) So in practice, even the current class check does not protect against what would be the common error. Though, for a general, collection-agnostic approach which can still use primitives between compatible classes, I guess giving the nextPutAll: argument a say in what method is actually used to do a next:putAll:startingAt: would be a better approach than simply removing the check and crossing our fingers. :) Cheers, Henry

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Pharo-project] How can I get account on Jenkins?

by Marcus Denker

On Jan 9, 2012, at 3:41 AM, Dimitry Golubovsky wrote: > Hi, > > How can I get an account on Jenkins so I could set up build jobs for > CogDroid? Yes, let's see how we set this up. (we can do this off-list) > Such way, everybody interested could easily get access to > the latest builds. Also, people who wish to experiment with derived > versions (built on top of the core VM Java+native libraries) would be > able to do it without messing with building the VM itself, just > referencing the proper .jar and .so files. > > Thanks. > > -- > Dimitry Golubovsky > > Anywhere on the Web > -- Marcus Denker -- http://marcusdenker.de

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Pharo-project] CogDroid Beta Test builds

by Norbert Hartl

Am 09.01.2012 um 05:06 schrieb Dimitry Golubovsky: > This is a temporary location. Hopefully my request for Jenkins account > will be granted, and I will be able to set up automatic build jobs for > CogDroid. I think putting the build at inria is good to do. If there are reasons why this is not possible I would be happy to help out. Meaning we could build cogdroid on my jenkins server. Norbert

Jan. 9, 2012

[Pharo-project] Another lighthouse image

by Schwab,Wilhelm K

Marginal , but maybe of use: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120108.html

Jan. 9, 2012

[Pharo-project] CogDroid Beta Test builds

by Dimitry Golubovsky

Hi, As CogDroid has undergone more testing on both ARM and x86 platforms, I am pleased to announce that CogDroid is now Beta. I have made two testing builds available: http://www.golubovsky.org/userdirs/golubovsky/CogDroid-beta/CogDroid-debug.… for ARM, and http://www.golubovsky.org/userdirs/golubovsky/CogDroid-beta/CogDroid86-debu… for x86. This is a temporary location. Hopefully my request for Jenkins account will be granted, and I will be able to set up automatic build jobs for CogDroid. What has been added/changed since the latest Alpha releases: 1. The core VM Java and native code has been separated into a library. Cog-based applications may be built on top of the library. The beta versions mentioned in this message are generic builds whose code extends the base activity class adding nothing to its functionality. The beta APK have different Java package names from alpha releases. 2. A VM primitive has been added to read text from Android clipboard. In order to use this primitive, In order to use this primitive, the package http://source.squeak.org/VMMaker/Android-Base-golubovsky.21.mcz (or newer) has to be installed from the following repo: http://source.squeak.org/VMMaker/ 3. Locale support has been added. Android NDK does not provide locale support as traditional C programs would expect, so the "stock" UnixLocalePlugin does not work. The Android replacement retrieves locale information from Java runtime by making several JNI calls at the moment of plugin initialization. CogDroid does not see changes in locale if Android language/country settings are changed, until restarted. 4. Keyboard support has been improved: in both architectures Ctrl and Alt modifiers should work, however I can not test it for ARM as I do not have a tablet with keyboard. Keyboard modifiers work in x86. Thanks. -- Dimitry Golubovsky Anywhere on the Web

Jan. 9, 2012

[Pharo-project] How can I get account on Jenkins?

by Dimitry Golubovsky

Hi, How can I get an account on Jenkins so I could set up build jobs for CogDroid? Such way, everybody interested could easily get access to the latest builds. Also, people who wish to experiment with derived versions (built on top of the core VM Java+native libraries) would be able to do it without messing with building the VM itself, just referencing the proper .jar and .so files. Thanks. -- Dimitry Golubovsky Anywhere on the Web

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Pharo-project] loading bytecodes into the image?

by Lawson English

That happens anyway if you don't have the sources handy. However, the bytecode compiler is so simple that reverse engineering of the code is automatic. You just loose the local var names and everything is referred to as t1, t2, t3, etc. Instance variable names are hardwired into the dictionaries, I believe, so they remain available. Lawson On 1/8/12 2:03 PM, Philippe Marschall wrote: > Hi > > Ok, I'm not pretending this isn't a stupid idea, I'm just curios. > > Suppose I want to build something that would allow me to load > "compiled classes" (without sources) into the VM. How would you > approach something like this? What things need special care (bindings, > symbols, load order, â¦)? > > Cheers > Philippe > > >

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Pharo-project] Best way for FFI in Pharo

by Schwab,Wilhelm K

It's not a problem at all, because the correct solution is supported - it just needs better exposure in the Spock chapter. \ ________________________________ From: pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr [pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr] on behalf of Mariano Martinez Peck [marianopeck(a)gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 5:59 PM To: Pharo-project(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr Subject: Re: [Pharo-project] Best way for FFI in Pharo On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 11:53 PM, Schwab,Wilhelm K <bschwab(a)anest.ufl.edu<mailto:bschwab@anest.ufl.edu>> wrote: I am just the messenger: the library names are different on the various platforms, Yes, but that's not a problem with the solution I have just mentioned. No need to change anything. and the names can change over time (especially on Linux). yes, but that's why I meant this is not that frequent at all. How many times it change? once a year? And that's why I recommended having a small script to change it. So again, I don't see this like a critical problem of FFI. ________________________________ From: pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:pharo-project-bounces@lists.gforge.inria.fr> [pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:pharo-project-bounces@lists.gforge.inria.fr>] on behalf of Mariano Martinez Peck [marianopeck(a)gmail.com<mailto:marianopeck@gmail.com>] Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 5:33 PM To: Pharo-project(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:Pharo-project@lists.gforge.inria.fr> Subject: Re: [Pharo-project] Best way for FFI in Pharo On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 11:26 PM, Schwab,Wilhelm K <bschwab(a)anest.ufl.edu<mailto:bschwab@anest.ufl.edu>> wrote: Why do it (automated or not) 2000 times when it can be done once? I don't understand. Why should I need to change the module name so frequently? I have been working with squeakDBX since 4 years and we never needed to change it. Think of the wasted time and change log bloat. Would you like to do it every time you move from Windows to Linux and back? I don't understand why you say you should change that when moving from one OS to another one. I think you may have design issue, not FFI. With DBXTalk we have the superclass PharoOpenDBX, with has all the openDBX api with methods ^ self subclassResponsability. That's to mark the API. Then we have 2 subclasses, OpenDBXUnix and OpenDBXWindows. And then OpenDBXMac which is subclass from the Unix one but doesn't change or add anything so far. Then we have a Current (singleton) stored in a class variable and a class side initialize that does ffiImplementationForOS | platformName | platformName := Smalltalk os platformName. platformName = 'Win32' ifTrue:[ ^OpenDBXWin32 basicNew initialize]. platformName = 'unix' ifTrue:[ ^OpenDBXUnix basicNew initialize]. platformName = 'Mac OS' ifTrue:[ ^OpenDBXMacOSX basicNew initialize]. self error: 'Cannot identify platform'. And that's all. We never need to change anything. The only thing you should care is if moving the same image from one OS to another one then you have to reinitialize this class variable. Or...you could add it to startUp list if you want. Cheers Say it once. The superiority of #moduleName is clear. ________________________________ From: pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:pharo-project-bounces@lists.gforge.inria.fr> [pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:pharo-project-bounces@lists.gforge.inria.fr>] on behalf of Mariano Martinez Peck [marianopeck(a)gmail.com<mailto:marianopeck@gmail.com>] Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 4:29 PM To: Pharo-project(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:Pharo-project@lists.gforge.inria.fr> Subject: Re: [Pharo-project] Best way for FFI in Pharo On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 10:13 PM, Schwab,Wilhelm K <bschwab(a)anest.ufl.edu<mailto:bschwab@anest.ufl.edu>> wrote: Agreed, except for thinking that changing all of the module names is not a big deal :) Why not? how many smalltalk lines of code do you think it could take to automate that? ;) An external library subclass is the way to go. I know this already exists in FFI, but the evolving chapter on Spock does not mention it - it should not only mention it, but recommend it, IMHO. Stef, does it make sense yet? ________________________________ From: pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:pharo-project-bounces@lists.gforge.inria.fr> [pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:pharo-project-bounces@lists.gforge.inria.fr>] on behalf of Mariano Martinez Peck [marianopeck(a)gmail.com<mailto:marianopeck@gmail.com>] Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 3:52 PM To: Pharo-project(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:Pharo-project@lists.gforge.inria.fr> Subject: Re: [Pharo-project] Best way for FFI in Pharo On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 9:25 PM, StÃ©phane Ducasse <stephane.ducasse(a)inria.fr<mailto:stephane.ducasse@inria.fr>> wrote: can you give an example that I understand "One thing I strongly recommend is to favor #moduleName over pragmas listing the library - imagine changing 2000+ GSL calls if the library name changes =:0 " Bill: that already exists in FFI. Stef: what Bill says is that if you bind to a specific library you have to put its library name in each method that calls a ffi function. Example of DBX: apiErrorType: handle number: err "int odbx_error_type( odbx_t*, int )" <cdecl: long 'odbx_error_type' (ulong long) module: 'opendbx'> ^ self externalCallFailed ---- apiInitialize: handle backend: backend host: host port: port "long odbx_init(odbx_t**, char*, char*, char*)" <cdecl: long 'odbx_init' (ulong* char* char* char*) module: 'opendbx'> ^self externalCallFailed --- xxx --- Notice the "module: 'opendbx" So...if now the library is renamed or whatever, you have to change all methods. But I don't think this is a real big deal. There are much worst things. Finaly, I copy paste an answer from Andreas from a previous thread: The Right Way to do this is to have a subclass of ExternalLibrary and implement the class-side method #moduleName along the lines of: MyLibrary class>>moduleName "Answer the module name to use for this library" Smalltalk platformName = 'Win32' ifTrue:[^'MyLibrary32.dll']. Smalltalk platformName = 'unix' ifTrue:[ "check various locations and versions" #('/usr/lib/libMyLibrary.so' '/usr/lib/libMyLibrary.so.1' '/usr/lib/libMyLibrary.so.2' '/usr/share/libMyLibrary.so.1' '/usr/share/libMyLibrary.so.2' ) do:[:location| (FileDirectory fileExists: location) ifTrue:[^location]. ]. ^self error:'MyLibrary is not installed' ]. Tx On Jan 8, 2012, at 9:18 PM, Schwab,Wilhelm K wrote: > Stef, > > Absent the NB experience, +1 to the comments below. FFI has pretty much "just worked" for me. We need double arrays. Callbacks would be great. One thing I strongly recommend is to favor #moduleName over pragmas listing the library - imagine changing 2000+ GSL calls if the library name changes =:0 It makes a LOT more sense to have a class per library, and that class knows the name to use. That's all the more true when one considers code such as ODBC that can run on multiple platforms with different names. #moduleName can test the OS and answer the correct name. > > Bill > > > ________________________________________ > From: pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:pharo-project-bounces@lists.gforge.inria.fr> [pharo-project-bounces(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:pharo-project-bounces@lists.gforge.inria.fr>] on behalf of StÃ©phane Ducasse [stephane.ducasse(a)inria.fr<mailto:stephane.ducasse@inria.fr>] > Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2012 2:16 PM > To: Pharo-project(a)lists.gforge.inria.fr<mailto:Pharo-project@lists.gforge.inria.fr> > Subject: Re: [Pharo-project] Best way for FFI in Pharo > > thanks for the feedback. > We will come back you soon :) > Because we should get FFI and NativeBoost fully working :). > > Stef > > On Jan 8, 2012, at 7:29 PM, ncalexan wrote: > >> >> fstephany wrote >>> >>> I'm also a bit lost between all the different options (plugins, >>> NativeBoost, FFI, Alien). >>> >> >> I also found this confusing, so let me tell my recent experience and my >> conclusion. >> >> I have written bindings to the SDL game programming library for use with >> Pharo. SDL is cross-platform, and I want to support Mac (most of all), >> Windows (one must), and Linux (if I must). As far as I can tell, Alien is >> not cross-platform and not maintained, so I have not spent time >> investigating it. >> >> Following Igor Stasenko's OpenGLSpecs package, I wrote an SDLSpecs package >> which parses the relevant C header files and then writes either an NB or FFI >> callout class tree. I need to define a few structures, make a class pool >> with some constants, and then define lots of callouts, many of which take >> references to structures (like 'foo(struct x*)'). >> >> I was able to make both work, more or less, on my Macbook Pro, using stock >> Pharo 1.3 images and Igor's NBCog.app. >> >> I found NB to be a nicer programmer experience but I found that the FFI just >> works. There are a lot of gratuitous differences, but: >> >> * NB requires a VM compiled with a separate plugin (that I built from source >> with no trouble -- Igor has done splendid work with CMakeVMMaker). >> * NB should be faster than the FFI at pretty much everything, but I can't >> say since I haven't measured. >> * NB has useful primitives for determining if your external objects are >> still valid and for determining the current operating system (I intend to >> use these even if I don't use NB). >> * NB has very few tests and examples and essentially no documentation. >> * NB has a simple conceptual model, but it is still not as simple as the FFI >> model. >> * NB uses variableByteClasses to great advantage -- this is very cool. >> >> * NB makes it easy to crash your image, since you are evaluating native code >> in image. >> * NB is still, to my eye, raw and untested on Mac. I had problems with >> stack alignments in bizarre places, and NB's interaction with garbage >> collection basically ended my attempts to use it. >> * NB is basically impossible to debug if you aren't very strong with x86 >> assembly (I'm not even strong with x86 assembly), and the stack >> manipulations rendered GDB pretty much useless for me. >> * NB does not integrate well with the Pharo tools -- I think the >> MethodTrailers are screwing up references, implementors, and source views, >> but I haven't investigated. >> * NB does not seem to support indirections very easily -- I struggled to >> understand how to interface to foreign C functions with specs like >> 'foo(struct x)', 'foo(struct x *)' and 'foo(struct x **)', and eventually >> gave up. >> >> I wanted to help Igor with the NB project, but the NB-OpenGL Mac bindings >> crash horribly for me, and although I was able to fix them, it I just don't >> hack enough x86 assembly to figure out all the tricks Igor is doing. The >> thought of making it all work on 3 platforms, and fix all the tool >> integration, was just too much for me. >> >> In conclusion, I prefer the FFI. It is old, cross platform, well tested, >> somewhat documented, and reliable. I think Igor has done some amazing work >> and I do not want to bash his project (and certainly not his code -- the >> man's a magician) but the fancy features are not necessary for my project. >> >> >> fstephany wrote >>> >>> Will this interface handle callbacks ? >>> >> >> I do not need callbacks so cannot speak to this issue. >> >> Yours, >> Nick Alexander >> >> -- >> View this message in context: http://forum.world.st/Best-way-for-FFI-in-Pharo-tp4275467p4276356.html >> Sent from the Pharo Smalltalk mailing list archive at Nabble.com. >> > > > -- Mariano http://marianopeck.wordpress.com -- Mariano http://marianopeck.wordpress.com -- Mariano http://marianopeck.wordpress.com -- Mariano http://marianopeck.wordpress.com

Jan. 9, 2012