|
|
|
|
Subject: RE: Form about the next plateform
From: Amblard Frederic (frederic.amblard@CLERMONT.cemagref.fr)
Date: ven oct 12 2001 - 18:37:02 CEST
Dear members,
I didn't want to talk for now about this subject but it begins to be scary
for me that some people want to use smalltalk again. I understand that some
people who are not computer scientists do not want to learn another language
but I really think that learning java is a good investment ...
I think that with a Cormas platform in Java, most of non computer
specialists (as you called them damien) will not really see the shift ...
The java language is very basic as it is for smalltalk (and basically some
commands are the same).
Taken this as a base, the way you use cormas for now is to benefit from
classes yet written in smalltalk and by inheritance you implement your own
model, it is quite the same in Java ... you'll start from the cormas
platform (basically many features and classes like Agents, Groups and so on
... ) and you'll build your model by implementing subclasses that will look
quite like your old Smalltalk classes ...
what you can say is "if it is the same" why to change to Java ? In fact with
java I think you can have easily more features than in smalltalk (the cormas
programers could give you more features)... I don't know smalltalk enough,
but it seems to me that it is easier to do distributed simulations in Java
for example ... or to pass from applications developped with cormas to
applets you can put on your webpage, basically you can do more powerfull
graphical interfaces (even if it is very easy to do in smalltalk)...
more than that, if it is written in Java, the platform could have an
international carreer (that is not the case if you use smalltalk).
In conclusion, don't be scared by Java, it is easy to learn the basic
features you need and it is a good way to make cormas evolve...
all the best
Fred
Frédéric Amblard
Doctorant
Cemagref-LISC
24, avenue des Landais
BP 50085
F - 63172 Aubière Cedex
France
Tél : +33 611 924 524
http://famblard.multimania.com
> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : Jourdain, Damien [mailto:D.JOURDAIN@CGIAR.ORG]
> Envoyé : vendredi 12 octobre 2001 18:08
> À : Cormas
> Objet : RE: Form about the next plateform
>
>
> Hi there.
>
> Given the discussion going on the future CORMAS II
> platform... it is clear
> that the platform has two different kind of "clients"...
>
> Those, "non computer-specialists" (like me), who enjoy
> smalltalk for its
> simplicity, and are not very keen on changing for something
> scary like Java
> (I'm not even thinking of C++)
>
> and
>
> Those, "computer-specialists", who might see in Smalltalk
> something like a
> "retrograde" program, and want to go all the way to more mainstream
> languages (with large communities of users, and therefore
> better product
> support (for the language I mean, cause I have nothing bad to
> say about
> CORMAS support) , and better interconnection with other
> applications ...).
>
> The question is:
> Is it possible to reconciliate those two worlds?
> Or are we talking of two different products, for two
> different communities
> in the future...
>
> Having said that, could the newer versions of Smalltalk (5i?) be a
> compromise? i.e. with newer features and better
> interconnections with recent
> applications without having to go through a new language training?
>
> Let's remember the initial purpose of CORMAS (at least the one I
> understood), user friendly platform so that
> computer-illiterates can have
> access to the world of MAS. (cf. Stanislas' message).
>
>
> Finally, if speed if something important and diversion something less
> important, I would suggest having the possibility to disable, when
> necessary, the graphical interface.
>
>
> Cheers,
>
>
> Damien
>