hello?

[Tom Tromey]

Brent> When we discuss gcj, I undertand it to be a front-end (of
Brent> sorts) to gcc that will allow me to compile bytecode or even
Brent> Java sources into native code.

gcj is a front end to gcc in the same way that g77 and g++ are.

Brent> But what about runtime support?  For example, if I have a
Brent> useful Java application like Moneydance -- obviously I can
Brent> compile that down and run it.  But what about the underlying
Brent> support that Java provides for things like security, garbage
Brent> collection, and even the Swing interface.  How are those
Brent> handled?

We're working on the runtime right now.  I imagine this is covered on
the web page, though I'm not 100% sure (I haven't looked at it in some
weeks).

The initial GC will be the Boehm conservative GC.  The initial thread
support will be for cooperative threads only.

We aren't dealing with Swing right now.

I don't know the answer about security.

Brent> Will gcj be distributable with some class libraries of some
Brent> sort that provide those interfaces (see the GNUCLASSPATH
Brent> project) or will you still need some sort of runtime
Brent> available... I'm sure you can see where I'm headed.

Our initial runtime will include the base class libraries that you'll
need.  They don't include everything (e.g. Swing, AWT), but they do
include enough to link a whole program.

Tom