Interesting piece: Objective-C on Java VM?

[Benedikt Stefansson]

I came accross a "OpenStep Newsletter" in the comp.lang.objective-c
newsgroup. The author (which is offering free subscriptions to his
newsletter over e-mail) writes an intriguing piece on a compiler that is
in development that would make it possible to compile Objective-C
programs for the Java VM - in theory one could then make ObjC programs
accessible to anyone with a browser.

I've cut and pasted the piece below, followed by a blurb about
subscriptions to the newsletter and credits.

(All the remaining text is not mine, but from the newsletter. Note in
particular the call for feedback from the developer):

1. Objective-C on Java Run-time

Java is a language, but it is also a platform, a byte code interpreter
with
an associated class library.   I know someone who is working to build an

Objective-C to Java byte code compiler.   It would take Objective-C
source
code and generate Java Byte code object files.  When finished, this
product
would allow Objective-C developers to continue to use their favorite
language
on theJava platform.  It would also allow corporations with large
investments
in Objective-C to move their applications to a platform with a brighter
future than is offered by OpenStep.

Market-wise, Java byte code interpreters run on lots of platforms, so
they
open a huge market for Objective-C applications.  Technically, the Java
platform is very friendly to Objective-C applications.  Java provides
the
run-time class information and dynamic binding that Objective-C
applications
need.   Java applications are composed of multiple files, one per class,
that
are dynamically linked at run-time, so there is no need to build a
linker,
only a compiler.   Furthermore, Java chips are starting to be made, and
the
possibility of a computer chip optimised for something like Objective-C
is
very interesting indeed.  Presumably languages such as Smalltalk and
Newton
Script could also be used to generate Java byte code.

While this project is still in its infancy, it looks very promising
technically.   The developer  claims that the run-time provides the
required
services according to the Java Virtual Machine by John Meyer, and Troy
Downing ISBN 1-56592-194-1.  He believes that the limitations lie not in
the Java byte code, but rather
with the Java verifier that checks for pointer arithmetic and other
security
violations.  If corporate internal applications are targetted, and the
Java
verifier is disabled, he believes that general Objective-C applications
could
run gracefully on the Java byte code interpreter.  Alternatively, a much
more
tightly defined Objective-C could run with the verifier enabled.  Of
course
Java prohibits message forwarding, so a work around would have to be
developed.

You may ask why I am interested in this project.   Well there are a lot
of
things that cross my desk that I do not report on, but this would
certainly
seem to be of interest to my readers.  Marketwise, it is a sad fact
that
Objective-C is not a hot language.  On the other hand, Java is very hot
in
the marketplace.  It would be great to tap into part of the Java market
energy.    With Objective-C running on a Java byte code interpreter, our

market would be a lot hotter.  I would make more placements, and your
salary
would be higher.  The whole situation reminds me of  when NT was
released,
and there was a huge interest in running Objective-C on that platform.
Eventually NeXT provided that functionality, and the rest is history.  I

believe that there is as strong a demand now for Objective-C on Java as
there
was then for Objective-C on NT.

At this stage, I am looking for feedback.  Is this a project that would
interest you?  Are you personally interested in helping to make it
happen?
Would your corporation be willing to invest in this project?  Should
this be
freeware, or a supported product?  Does anyone own a clean, fast,
Objective-C
parser?  At the very least, I would like to hear what people think of
this
idea.  Ideally, I would like to generate enough interest in this project
to
make it happen quickly.  I look forward to hearing from you.
address@hidden

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Christopher Lozinski
BPG
35032 Maidstone Court
Newark, CA 94560
address@hidden

Copyright 1997 Berkeley Productivity Group. All rights reserved.

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--
----------------
Benedikt Stefansson                 address@hidden
Department of Economics, UCLA       Fax. (310) 825-9528
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1477          Tel. (310) 825-4126



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