The way I see the problem, you have two logistical choices:
1. Guarantee that multiple VMs is compatible with single VMs--i.e., any
program written to Sun's specs and guidelines will work under the "multiple
VM" feature of Japhar
2. Say that multiple VMs is a Japhar-specific feature, and add
functions people must call to make their stuff compatible (or just say that
you only guarantee it if they do string lookups every time).
The two options are incompatible. If you say multiple VMs is a
standard feature of Java, it must work with Java specs and guidelines (so
that standard Java programs will work under it). Java specs and guidelines
are largely incompatible with multiple VMs, so it does take some fudging to
make it all work. But if you do it that way, I think it will all work out
much better.
When you get around to dealing with multiple VMs--I know you have a lot
on your plate right now--I suggest you allow a configure option: --single-vm
or --multi-vm. Given that multi-vm stuff will slow things down (per-VM
hashes and all), and that most programs are written to be single-vm, the
option would be good so that Japhar can remain competetive with single-vm
implementations of the JVM.
--John Keiser
