
                         Frequently Asked Questions
                                      
   Table of contents
   
   Q01: [1]Why the name SmallEiffel The GNU Eiffel Compiler?
   Q02: [2]What's the matter with version numbering?
   Q03: [3]Is it possible to have the complete Eiffel source code of
   SmallEiffel?
   Q04: [4]Is it possible to use SmallEiffel for large/commercial
   applications?
   Q05: [5]Is it possible to do incremental compilation with
   SmallEiffel?
   Q06: [6]Is there a SmallEiffel mailing list?
   Q07: [7]What about the Guru section?
   Q08: [8]Is it difficult to switch from ISE to SmallEiffel?
   Q09: [9]Are there mirror FTP sites for SmallEiffel?
   Q10: [10]Is it possible to use the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage
   collector with SmallEiffel?
   Q11: [11]Why don't you post more messages in newsgroups and/or mailing
   lists?
   Q12: [12]It is possible to create applets with compile_to_jvm?
   Q13: [13]Where do I send bug reports?
   Q14: [14]Is there a mechanism to precompile libraries?
   Q15: [15]How is SmallEiffel compiled?
   Q16: [16]How do I keep informed about SmallEiffel?
   Q17:
     [17]What documentation is provided with SmallEiffel?
   Where can I find Eiffel documentation?
   Q18: [18]Does SmallEiffel compile the whole Eiffel language ?
   Q19: [19]How can I help ?
   Q20: [20]Why don't you change this and add that?! It would be much
   better/cooler/whatever !
   Q21: [21]How to customize the Garbage Collector for a new architecture
   ?
   
   Questions and answers
   
   Q01: Why the name SmallEiffel The GNU Eiffel Compiler?
   A01: SmallEiffel comes from the mixing of the names Smalltalk and
   Eiffel. Our aim is to offer an Eiffel development environment as easy
   to use as Smalltalk and as safe as Eiffel. Since version -0.82,
   SmallEiffel has been promoted by the Free Software Foundation the
   official GNU Eiffel Compiler.
   
   Q02: What's the matter with version numbering?
   A02: Version numbering uses negative numbers. The first distributed
   version was numbered -0.99, the second one -0.98, the third -0.97, and
   so on. Version number -0.0 should correspond to the very best Eiffel
   compiler on this planet :-)
   
   Q03: Is it possible to have the complete Eiffel source code of
   SmallEiffel?
   A03: Since it is the GNU Eiffel Compiler, the complete source code of
   SmallEiffel is of course in the distribution. The source code for
   additional libraries is also provided.
   
   Q04: Is it possible to use SmallEiffel for large/commercial
   applications?
   A04: It is very possible to use SmallEiffel for a large application.
   An Eiffel compiler is a really big project and SmallEiffel itself is
   fully written in Eiffel. SmallEiffel is completely free and any
   private compagny can use SmallEiffel freely, and distribute freely the
   products made with it. They do not have to pay royalties. However,
   SmallEiffel doesn't come with any warranty (please read the COPYING
   file in the distribution). For extended support as well as consulting,
   see [22]here.
   
   Q05: Is it possible to do incremental compilation with SmallEiffel?
   A05: Before release -0.91 the answer was no. The answer is now YES.
   Because of the SmallEiffel type inference mechanism, SmallEiffel
   always produces all needed C files from scratch. As old C files are
   automatically saved, only modified C files are recompiled. See
   [23]man/compile for details.
   
   Q06: Is there a SmallEiffel mailing list?
   A06: Yes! SmallEiffel users and developpers can share their
   experiences and ideas by subscribing to the [24]SmallEiffel official
   mailing list.
   
   Q07: What about the Guru section?
   A07: Some feature section of the SmallEiffel library are labelled with
   :
        feature -- The Guru section :
   If you really need your software to be portable on other Eiffel
   compilers, do not use those features.
   
   Q08: Is it difficult to switch from ISE to SmallEiffel?
   A08: If your original ISE software only uses simple types like
   INTEGER, STRING, ARRAY, BOOLEAN, CHARACTER and DOUBLE, it is usually
   very simple. It is a little bit difficult for simple input/output
   (used with predefined `io') because some features have different
   names. If your original software heavily relies on the EiffelBase
   library, it may be very difficult. For example, one must keep in mind
   that SmallEiffel.ARRAY inherit SmallEiffel.COLLECTION and that ISE
   library also have a class COLLECTION. By the way, subclasses of
   ISE.COLLECTION cannot be used. The ISE.LINKED_LIST can be used in
   conjunction with SmallEiffel.ARRAY because ISE.LINKED_LIST do not
   inherit ISE.COLLECTION (no clash).
   
   Q09: Are there mirror FTP sites for SmallEiffel?
   A09: Australia
   [25]ftp://ftp.progsoc.uts.edu.au/pub/Eiffel/SmallEiffel/
   Austria [26]http://gd.tuwien.ac.at/pub/languages/SmallEiffel/
   USA [27]ftp://ftp.cs.rit.edu/pub/mirrors/SmallEiffel/
   
   Q10: Is it possible to use the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector
   with SmallEiffel?
   A10: Yes.
   You just have to disable the generation of the GC by SmallEiffel
   (option -no_gc) and replace it by the BDW library. Note that the BDW
   GC can be easily added because SmallEiffel only uses
   malloc/realloc/calloc.
   You can download the BDW library from :
          [28]http://reality.sgi.com/boehm_mti/gc_source
          
   How to integrate the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector with
   SmallEiffel (from a message of Dietmar Wolz) :
    1. Make the gc.a file from the BDW package. Then move this gc.a file
       to /usr/lib/libgc.a.
    2. Move gc.h the to working directory and add the following lines:
       #define malloc(n) GC_malloc(n)
       #define calloc(m,n) GC_malloc((m)*(n))
       #define realloc(p,n) GC_realloc((p),(n))
       #define free(p) GC_free(p)
    3. instead of calling
           "compile -o executable -boost -O root"
       now call
           "compile -o executable -boost -O root -no_gc -lgc -include
       gc.h
       
   
   Q11: Why don't you post more messages in newsgroups and/or mailing
   lists?
   A11: First, because we strongly believe that too much information
   kills information. Scientists call this "cognitive overload". :)
   Second, because we don't have the time. It takes an awful amount of
   time to follow discussions, whichever their quality. We try to do
   that. But it's even more time-consuming to be part of them. So, we
   often have too choose betwen posting/mailing, and working directly on
   SmallEiffel. Since our mailboxes tend to overflood, we generally
   choose the latter :)
   
   Q12: It is possible to create applets with compile_to_jvm?
   A12: Not yet. SmallEiffel was designed to compile Eiffel applications
   to C code or Java bytecode, but not applets.
   
   Q13: Where and how do I send bug reports?
   A13: Before sending any bug report, please:
    1. Compile your application with the -verbose flag, without the
       -no_warning flag, and with all assertions on (default mode, or
       -all_check flag). This may reveal a problem in the code you're
       trying to compile rather than in SmallEiffel...
    2. Check that you've got the [29]latest version of SmallEiffel.
    3. Check that the bug has not been fixed in our [30]latest (beta or
       working) version
    4. Verify that is it not a known problem by [31]looking at our "not
       yet implemented" page
    5. Check whether the problem has not already been reported in [32]the
       SmallEiffel mailing-list
       
   A good and useful bug report -- that is, one that is more likely to be
   fixed -- is one that respects the following simple guideline: BE
   PRECISE . More precisely ;-) :
    1. Which hardware architecture do you use ? What operating system and
       which version of it ? What is your version of SmallEiffel ? Your C
       compiler or JVM, and its version ?
    2. Tell us how to reproduce the problem. Try to isolate it on a small
       program and send us the latter with all instructions necessary in
       order for us to reproduce the problem. Don't forget to tell us the
       compilation command you used.
    3. If for any reason you can't send us the small program mentionned
       above, things may be much more difficult for us. So give us all
       the releavant information you have. The compilation command line
       that creates the problem (once again, preferably, with the
       -verbose flag, without the -no_warning flag, and with all
       assertions on -- default mode, or -all_check flag) and its verbose
       output. The execution stack trace you get in case of a crash.
       Whether the problem occurs with any assertion level or not.
       Whether the GC is concerned (try with and w/o the -no_gc flag).
       
   Bug reports can be sent either to [33]Dominique.Colnet@loria.fr and
   Olivier.Zendra@loria.fr, or to [34]the SmallEiffel mailing-list.
   Don't worry if you don't get an ack: we don't send them because it
   takes time, but we store all the bug reports we receive. And we even
   try to fix them ASAP! :)
   
   Q14: Is there a mechanism to precompile libraries?
   A14: No, there is no such mechanism in SmallEiffel. But if you're
   concerned about speed, don't worry, precomputed libraries are not the
   only way to be fast ! Just try SmallEiffel, and you'll see :)
   
   Q15: How is SmallEiffel compiled?
   A15: With Eiffel optimization options -boost and -no_gc. The garbage
   collector is indeed useless on the SmallEiffel commands: since
   SmallEiffel did not include a GC in its first versions, we were very
   careful about memory when we developped it.
   With C compilation optimizations turned on (it depends on the C
   compiler used; we generally use GCC).
   The resulting executables are stripped.
   
   Q16: How do I keep well informed about SmallEiffel?
   A16: The best way is to keep an eye on our web pages, more especially
   on the [35]What's New? page and the [36]History of Changes.
   People who want detailed information may also decide to stay tuned to
   [37]the SmallEiffel mailing-list.
   
   Q17: What documentation is provided with SmallEiffel?
   Where can I find Eiffel documentation?
   A17: The documentation provided with SmallEiffel is a transcript of
   what you can find on the original SmallEiffel Web site, at
   [38]http://SmallEiffel.loria.fr. It is related only to the use and
   internals of SmallEiffel (yes, we know we still have to improve it ;)
   ).
   For information and documentation about the Eiffel language, check the
   links on our [39]Internet resources page. Note that we are not aware
   of any complete Eiffel language manual freely available on the Web
   (yet?).
   
   Q18: Does SmallEiffel compile the whole Eiffel language ?
   A18: Yes. "Small" in SmallEiffel does not mean that a subset of the
   language is used. See the [40]question about the SmallEiffel name.
   
   Q19: How can I help ?
   A19: The best way to help SmallEiffel and its users is probably to
   pick up some area you're interested in, and develop with SmallEiffel
   your own library, application, tool, extension, etc., releasing it to
   other users.
   To avoid duplicate efforts, we suggest you have a look to [41]what
   other people are already doing around SmallEiffel and help them if
   something that's of interest to you is already under work. There are
   actually very good things in there, some we were not even aware of,
   when they were under development ! :)
   Another very good way to help us is to follow the [42]bug report
   guidelines when you find some problem with SmallEiffel :))
   Finally, you may also consider funding the development of particular
   features you wouls like to have.
   
   Q20: Why don't you change this and add that?! It would be much
   better/cooler/whatever !
   A20: People must understand that we can't always do everything. We
   simply can't. Because we don't have the time. Whether we like it or
   not, we also have other things to do than provide free stuff, modify
   our compiler and/or libraries to please everybody. We do as much as we
   can, but we don't do miracles, sorry.
   Since SmallEiffel is free of charge and open-source, people who do
   need things we don't provide can always implement them and have them
   benefit everybody. A good way to do this is to start working on it,
   and ask other people (i.e. not the SmallEiffel team ;) ) to join and
   help. See the [43]"How can I help ?" question.
   Alternatively, someone or some company who does need us to implement
   something may always consider funding a bit the development of
   SmallEiffel... After all, we've even heard that some people were
   selling sofware and making a bit of money with it... ;)))
   
   Q21: How to customize the Garbage Collector for a new architecture ?
   A21: The [44]install command is supposed to tune the GC automatically
   for you. Unfortunately, on some systems, this is not yet automatic.
   Here the way to fix your installation manually (hence to provide a
   patch for the install command itself).
   The content of file SmallEiffel/sys/gc indicates the appropriate
   `mark_stack_and_registers' C function for your system. As an example,
   if the file SmallEiffel/sys/gc contains on the very first line the
   name linux.c, the file SmallEiffel/sys/gc_lib/linux.c is used to get
   the appropriate definition of the `mark_stack_and_registers' C
   function. This definition is automatically included in the generated C
   files (use the -verbose flag to check for the path of the selected
   gc_lib file).
   If the very first line of the file SmallEiffel/sys/gc is NONE, the
   compiler will continue to emit a warning about GC configuration and
   will use the default SmallEiffel/sys/gc_lib/generic.c definition. To
   fix this, you have to select the appropriate file of the
   SmallEiffel/sys/gc_lib directory and update SmallEiffel/sys/gc
   accordingly.
   In order to check the GC, you should be able to run all files of the
   SmallEiffel/misc/benchmarks/gc directory. If you don't find an
   appropriate file for your system in the SmallEiffel/sys/gc_lib
   directory, you should first check that the generic.c definition works.
   The generic.c file contains some more information to allow you to
   write your own new configuration.
   
                                   [Line]
                                      
             Copyright © Dominique COLNET and Suzanne COLLIN -
                           [45]<colnet@loria.fr>
                   Last update: 26 November 2000, by DC. 

References

   1. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q01
   2. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q02
   3. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q03
   4. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q04
   5. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q05
   6. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q06
   7. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q07
   8. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q08
   9. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q09
  10. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q10
  11. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q11
  12. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q12
  13. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q13
  14. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q14
  15. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q15
  16. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q16
  17. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q17
  18. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q18
  19. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q19
  20. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q20
  21. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q21
  22. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/support/support.html
  23. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/compile.html
  24. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/support/mailing-list.html
  25. ftp://ftp.progsoc.uts.edu.au/pub/Eiffel/SmallEiffel/
  26. http://gd.tuwien.ac.at/pub/languages/SmallEiffel/
  27. ftp://ftp.cs.rit.edu/pub/mirrors/SmallEiffel/
  28. http://reality.sgi.com/boehm_mti/gc_source/
  29. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/misc/HISTORY.html
  30. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/misc/HISTORY.html
  31. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/misc/NOT_YET_IMPLEMENTED.html
  32. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/Mailing-list/threads.html
  33. mailto:Dominique.Colnet@loria.fr,Olivier.Zendra@loria.fr
  34. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/support/mailing-list.html
  35. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/general/whatsnew.html
  36. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/misc/HISTORY.html
  37. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/support/mailing-list.html
  38. http://SmallEiffel.loria.fr/
  39. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/general/resources.html
  40. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q01
  41. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/general/repository.html
  42. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q13
  43. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/SmallEiffelFAQ.html#Q19
  44. file://localhost/home/colnet/SmallEiffel/man/man/install.html
  45. mailto:colnet@loria.fr
