From: Hal Fulton <hal9000@...>
Date: 2004-10-10T06:16:00+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby VM Projects

Mark Wassell wrote:
> There are a number of RubyVM machine projects some just starting, some
> 'almost' there, some very active and some dormant. See
> http://www.rubygarden.org/ruby?VirtualMachineOptions
> 
> I am wondering if this is one area of Ruby that requires some form of
> coordination. I appreciate that this isn't the way that Ruby projects are
> handled in general but perhaps this can be an exception, at least until we
> get one VM project through the gate.

I sympathize with what you're saying, but there are problems with it.

- There is no one philosophy of how a VM ought to be done. Thus there is
   a strong tendency for people to say, "I don't like that approach, I'll
   make my own."
- Matz wants to use "his own" VM, which may or may not be YARV or some
   existing project, but *will* be tailored specifically to Ruby.
- Matz, of course, has many subprojects and is very busy.
- Some projects target other VMs: Parrot, JVM, LLVM?, .NET, and so on. Even
   when Matz writes/picks the One True VM, these other projects won't go away
   or be invalidated.

Having said that: Synergy is a great thing. If people can somehow cooperate
and focus their efforts, that's great. Ultimately Matz's call I guess.


Hal