Re: Which JVM?

[Robert Schuster]

Hi Thomas

> Kaffe: looks dead; last development release almost a year ago (not to 
> mention stable releases)
>  
Kaffe's website isn't updated that often but I am registered to its 
mailing-list and can confirm that this project is pretty active.

> sableVM: website is dead.
>  
Again there is a lot of traffic on its mailing-list.

Well, coders are coders not often web gurus ;-)

> So, what do you guys use?  Please provide a cooperative download with your 
> choice VM(s) so people can actually get started.  The 'download' page seems 
> like a good point for this, since downloading classpath itself is pointless 
> without a JVM, right?
>  
I suggest you to try JamVM (jamvm.sf.net) - its a small interpreting VM 
that works with Classpath out
of the box (I can confirm this for GNU/Linux x86 + JamVM 1.20 + GNU 
Classpath 0.10-0.12). For
me its the perfect tiny VM to test my local changes.

Its really bad that the SableVM site is unreachable atm because recently 
they said it supports Classpath
in an out-of-the-box environment, too.

AFAIK the mechanism that makes Classpath adoption easier for VM 
implementors is still evolving. From
time to time the implementors show up here, discuss their needs and find 
a solution for their
specific requirements (e.g. Kaffe <-> SableVM <-> JikesRVM <-> JNode OS 
<-> IKVM).
I find this very interesting and it demonstrates me one the real 
advantages of Free software.

> I'm really hoping that I can actually run classpath this winter-holiday!
>  
>
>  
That would be fantastic but prepare to get dissapointed sometimes. 
Yesterday I accepted a bug report relating
to javax.swing.JComboBox and found out that beside the initial problem 
the class misses a bunch of other features.
For me the real problem is not the issue itself but my over-ambitious 
(and intrinsic) motivation to fix it and the
effects it has on my social and academic life.

Btw: Is there a place where Free software hackers discuss such 
motivational and social topics?

cu
Robert