However, while I agree that Sun's implementation does provide some modularity mechanisms, there seems to be two short comings:
1. The mechanisms themselves do not go far enough, they only provide minimal capabilities.
True but what more do you need at the runtime level?
2. They are not used, nor is their use really encouraged.
They are used by a few container APIs (ie mandated in servlet spec and it was proposed for EJB - not sure if it made it) but because there is no real support in base runtime no one bothered to use them in regular apps.
I won't deny that I have a biased point of view, but your point about the spaghetti code of the standard runtime is what I am trying to get at. It would be nice if Harmony defined some form of modularity (preferably a stronger form) and then followed the rules imposed by that modularity from the beginning to avoid getting into the spaghetti situation.
agreed. But I think that this spagetti-ness stems from the way it is specified and is not really open to much modification in runtimes - I could be wrong though.
I, for one, though, think it is possible to do better.
I am sure it is - but someone has to sit down and figure out how ;)
--- Cheers,
Peter Donald
"The power of accurate observation is frequently
called cynicism by those who don't have it."
- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)