Re: SableVM? -- naming things

[Etienne Gagnon <eg...@sablevm.org>]

Hi Leo,

> I seem to recall that you mentioned previously that if any part of
> SableVM would move to be a part of harmony you'd prefer that the name
> SableVM be kept...

This was in a private email discussion between Geir, Archie and me...

[Leo, please be careful not to report private discussions without first
asking permission from relevant people to do so.  Such things can lead
to diplomatic disasters.  Luckily, it's not the case here.  :-)]

So, let me rephrase my expressed wish (yet, I really don't know if now
is an appropriate time to discuss such a thing):

I imagine that SableVM's contributed code would be stored in a sablevm/
subdirectory of Harmony, in the svn repository.  Now, this code is
likely to evolve with time, thanks to the contribution of Harmony
contributors (including some UQAM and McGill students).  I also see
other VMs part being merged into the sablevm/ code.

I would wish that the directory name "sablevm/" survives for the VM
itself, at least as long as the code contributed by SableVM authors
(even under ICLA) constitutes the majority of the VM code.

This is not a "requirement"; it is merely a "wish".  SableVM's authors
would be very grateful, though, if you granted us this little wish.

As for the "public" name of the VM, I expect Harmony to call it "the
Harmony Reference Virtual Machine" or something similar, specially if
this VM keeps SableVM's culture of targeting portability,
maintainability and "robustness" first.  I would rather like to see a
TCK-compatible VM sooner, than a "faster" TCK-incompatible one.

I expect end users to call it "Harmony VM", or even "Harmony"...
Come to think of it, they'll actually call it "Eclipse" or "Ant", as
they'll not even think that there is a runtime system behind the Java
application they run.  :-)

So, to repeat myself: we would consider it as a nice "Thank You!" of the
Harmony team if it kept the code in a sablevm/ directory.  We do not ask
for the public name of the VM to be SableVM, yet we would be flattered
if Harmony developers used the name "sablevm" on this mailing list as a
short name for "Harmony Reference Virtual Machine".  :-)

See some comments below.

> I wonder whether it would be confusing to users/contributors/developers
> that there would be a "SableVM trunk" at the ASF (which might very well
> have branches and tags of its own) and then a "SableVM research effort"
> "somewhere else".

My use of "SableVM trunk" in an earlier message was not an attempt to
impose such name usage.  It was simply an attempt to write clearly
understandable context-sensitive text.  :-P

> ...how does or would the Sable research lab and/or McGill university
> feel about that?...

Actually, the Sable group has become a multi-university one.  See:
 http://www.sable.mcgill.ca/people/

I'm actually one of the Faculty leaders of the group, now.  [I got a
promotion at some point of history. :-)]

As I said, we're just "wishing" for more/less directory name
preservation (and maybe preservation of the _svm* prefix in the code,
and little inconsequential things like that) as a nicety.  It's not a
formal requirement.  [The only formal requirement is the preservation of
the acknowledgment in the NOTICE file.]

Hoping that this clarifies this non-issue. :-)

Have fun!

Etienne

-- 
Etienne M. Gagnon, Ph.D.            http://www.info2.uqam.ca/~egagnon/
SableVM:                                       http://www.sablevm.org/
SableCC:                                       http://www.sablecc.org/

Re: SableVM? -- naming things

[Etienne Gagnon <eg...@sablevm.org>]

Leo Simons wrote:
>>This was in a private email discussion between Geir, Archie and me...
> 
> Really? How do I know about it then? ...

Oh!  Then, it's me that apologizes.  Maybe I mentioned or implied this
wish in some other email without noticing it.  Sorry for the
misunderstanding!

Cheers,

Etienne

-- 
Etienne M. Gagnon, Ph.D.            http://www.info2.uqam.ca/~egagnon/
SableVM:                                       http://www.sablevm.org/
SableCC:                                       http://www.sablecc.org/

Re: SableVM? -- naming things

[Leo Simons <ma...@leosimons.com>]

On Thu, Mar 23, 2006 at 11:40:10AM -0500, Etienne Gagnon wrote:
> > I seem to recall that you mentioned previously that if any part of
> > SableVM would move to be a part of harmony you'd prefer that the name
> > SableVM be kept...
> 
> This was in a private email discussion between Geir, Archie and me...

Really? How do I know about it then? ...

> [Leo, please be careful not to report private discussions without first
> asking permission from relevant people to do so.  Such things can lead
> to diplomatic disasters.  Luckily, it's not the case here.  :-)]

In any case, apologies.

> So, let me rephrase my expressed wish (yet, I really don't know if now
> is an appropriate time to discuss such a thing):

I don't know either. I just dabble. You get better at it :-)

The reason I ask the questions is now is because I'm looking for possible
unsurmountable problems. If we find any, then it does not make sense to
waste "official" or "lawyer" time. I tend to try and make sure that there
is something all people involved really really really want, and that all
the hows and whys and if-and-only-if-thens and WHEREASes are fully
spelled out, before sending questions "upwards" into the official
channels.

<snip/>
> Hoping that this clarifies this non-issue. :-)

Crystal clear, thanks!

> Have fun!

You too!

regards,

Leo