[REBOL] Re: Commercializing Rebol
From: gjones05:mail:orion at: 16-May-2001 9:00
> > > GS Jones
GSJ> > > The concept is solid, in my opinion, and would be
GSJ> > > the sort of solution I would like to see for REBOL
GSJ> > > applications meant for distribution to the
GSJ> > > general public (meaning, less than truly computer-competent).
> "Robert M. Muench" wrote:
RMM> > Hi, maybe someone from RT can have a look at it, for RT it
RMM> > should be a no-brainer to create the right solution ;-)).
GSJ> > > The REBOL runtime (and runtimes yet to be)
GSJ> > > apparently achieves some of these goals. An expanded
GSJ> > > wrapper-type solution including database would be
GSJ> > > ideal.
RMM> > I like the wrapper idea, too. It's really nice to be able
RMM> > to pack everything you need into one EXE file. I hope
RMM> > RT will expand this idea further. Since HD space is so
RMM> > cheap I really don't like the shared-library concept anymore.
From: "Petr Krenzelok" <[Petr--Krenzelok--trz--cz]>
PK> But - mobile communication is coming. There is no space to
PK> waste. Mobile networks are also throughput limited - how do
PK> you upgrade your component if everything is internally inside
PK> one .exe? Let's say Carl changes something in VID and I really
PK> don't understand why should I download the whole Rebol once
PK> again. Rebol, in its principle, - is very granular (referring to
series).
<snip>
PK> But maybe you mean just something different? e.g. mechanism
PK> working as linker, which would pack functionality needed into
PK> one executable, so if DLL contains e.g. 10 funcs and only 3
PK> of them are called, then those 3 would be linked in?
Actually, I am envisioning a different mechanism, and here is where I
wish I could find the additional reference links from Jean-Claude
Wippler's site. The TclKit-MetaKit combination actually uses the
MetaKit database to store the components of the distribution. If I
recall correctly, Jean-Claude's vision was that the scripted document
could allow for either a simple, whole replacement (executable file for
executable file without the need for any real installation, per se), or
that components in the database could be updated through a network!
Here is where the beauty and the power seems to lie in the concept
as I understand it. So basically, Petr, the additional things you wrote
about (not herein included) basically foreshadow the idea I'm trying to
present, that such a system exists, at least at a rudimentary level.
The
added beauty, as I made reference to, is that the MetaKit
implementation "automatically" compresses all stored files, and,
furthrmore, this compressed version is binary compatible (at least the
data elements; obviously a platform specific library would not work
on the incorrect platform).
I believe you are still entirely correct by pointing out that shared
resources were designed in part to reduce redundancy in storage. My
vision of the extension of Jean-Claude's vision of the scripted document
does not entirely avoid this pitfall. It at least optimizes on the
problem
through compression. A typical Tcl/Tk basic working model (not
developmental model) might span several megabytes, but the TclKit
compressed version is about 750KB. Like the REBOL executable
interpretor, it expands in memory as a part of the process of being run.
A REBOL distribution so encapsulated would be even smaller.
With Regards,
--Scott Jones
