Shared Libraries for MCL

[lindahl@cse.uta.edu (Charlie Lindahl)]

I've been following this discussion with some interest, and thot I'd throw
my $.02 in. 

I, too, favor a shared library approach. It has proven successful in 
UNIX environments (both for code size and for sharing of code, i.e.,
allowing multiple MCL executables to run at once). 

Some precedents: 

1) Visual Basic in Windows (no, I'm FAR from a big Windows fan)
   This requires a DLL (Dynamic Link Library) to run .exes generated from
   Visual Basic. However, a small-to-medium scale application (interface-
   wise) consumed only 14K of disk space (the DLL takes 360K). 

   The VB DLL is available on public archives; therefore, I assume it is
   available from other sources, as well. This means that developers can   
   distribute relatively small .exe files, and can still rely on having
   a reasonable set of functions available at all times.

2) Frontier 
   Ditto with the Frontier Runtime (shareware, $25). 

3) HYPERCARD 
   
I don't think that tree-shaking will work either, for the reasons given
in previous discussions (lack of support for EVAL, READ). 

Later,
Charlie
============================================================================
Keep an open mind ... but not so  | Charlie S. Lindahl
open that your brain falls out.   | lindahl@cse.uta.edu
-- Gerald Coates                  | Electrical Engineering Dept
                                  | University of Texas at Arlington
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