[kaffe] GNU Classpath and Kaffe

[Jim Pick]

I haven't posted to the list in quite some while, so I guess I should 
chip in so people know I'm still here.  Y'all are reading my blog on 
Planet Classpath, right?  :-)

Michael Franz wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> My understanding is that Kaffe is going to start using the GNU
> classpath instead of it's own implemenation of the Java libraries. 
> What is preventing us from using them today?    Is there a TODO list
> that people are working that will get us to this point?  Is there a
> timeline for this?

Dalibor has been working feverishly merging in all the Classpath stuff.

Eventually, we'll be able to scrap the old Kaffe class libraries 
completely, and just use Classpath.  There are obstacles of course, 
because Kaffe developed it's own VM interface, which predated Classpath 
VM interface - that all needs to be reworked, without introducing too 
many regressions.  It looks like we're gradually getting there, bit by bit.

I haven't done any diffing to see what the status of the migration is. 
I'm sure Dalibor can speak to this.

I see Kaffe as a staging area for the Classpath project.  Most class 
library development happens there, but we're a good place to test things 
out before pushing it to the mothership.

> Another question, when is Kaffe 1.1.5 coming out?

"When it's ready" (TM)

This is my area - I've been moving a bit slow unfortunately.

For 1.1.5, my stated goal is to not do a time-based release, but to have 
a testsuite, and release it when it passes the testsuite.  The 1.1.5 
release will still be a "development" release, so we don't have to make 
the testsuite too hard to pass.

I don't want to go back to doing time-based CVS-snapshot style releases, 
since we get way to many regressions without some rigorous testing.  I 
also was finding that it would take me several days of work just to 
manually hammer out all the little packaging bugs before I could do the 
release.  That's just no fun -- I'm just doing this as a volunteer project.

I would have preferred to have had a testsuite and a release out months 
ago.  However, I've been preoccupied with setting up a new server for 
the project.  Like everybody else, I'm doing this project in my spare 
time, which is hard to come by, so things progress slowly.  The server 
is going to be a really nice thing to have for doing the releases, as 
I'll be able to centralize all the testing and release systems on it.

I've almost got the new server ready to put into production (but not 
ready to replace the current server yet).  One of the first things I'm 
planning to put on it is a wiki for test/release planning.  I've got a 
good 20 pages of content to put on it.  :-)

I'm a systems/process oriented type of guy -- I'm really happy to see 
the rest of the developers drive Kaffe development at such an incredible 
pace.  I see my job as being the guy who applies the brakes and gets the 
releases out... (of course, the last release was in February, so I gotta 
suck it in a bit and do some more work  :-)

Given the amount of stuff I want to do, I wouldn't expect 1.1.5 before 
January.  But it will be a nice, tested release.  Promise.  :-)

Cheers,

  - Jim