dMZX Forums: Decouple bytecode from Robotic. -> MegaZeux Feature Requests -> Tracker

The goal of this item is to separate bytecode from the Robotic language runtime such that a new language can be integrated to improve Megazeux's functionality.

This feature is currently in the planning stage. All information related to this and necessary research notes should be relayed here.

Completion of this feature necessary by July 3, 2010 for the next major Megazeux release.

Summary:
http://www.digitalmz...showtopic=14238

Some progress has been made with this already. I have merged current trunk into debytecode reducing the delta from around 35K LOC to about 8K. 5.6K of this is in the new robotic assembler. The following ordered work items remain:

• Extract features/bugfixes/cleanups unrelated to debytecode and merge them into trunk immediately;
  
• Implement preventative features Exo has requested;
  
• Once debytecode and trunk are as similar as possible, build preview binaries for testing and community feedback;
  
• Decide when and how to merge this into trunk.

The (current) leading proposal is to create a hybrid, where choice of language is fixed at world-creation time, then debytecode can continue to develop in trunk rather than in isolation of the main code-base. The legacy robotic editors/assemblers/disassemblers go into maintenance mode and receive no new features; features only appear in the new language. Eventually, when debytecode is mature, and there is a community consensus that it is a good and valid improvement, we remove the ability to code in the older language.

Something like, that, anyway. It's all fairly nebulous at the moment and I'm open to alternative suggestions.

--ajs.

Another update on this. The method I've picked, moving forwards, is to put all of the debytecode changes under CONFIG_DEBYTECODE in trunk. IOW, it becomes a compile time option to select the debytecode build. This will reduce the number of changes I need to make to my build scripts and no longer risks falling behind trunk again (as I make bug fixes).

After releasing the preview (hopefully in the next few days) I will work to eliminate the CONFIG_DEBYTECODE blocks and start switching on parts of the code at runtime.

--ajs.

Updating status to: Flagged For Future Version
Updating severity to: 1 - Low

The release was made, and futherance of the integration is not a 2.83b item.

--ajs.

Moving to: MegaZeux Feature Requests

Updating version to: GIT (debytecode)

Future planned features from the request file:

• An IF command that takes no label and skips the next command when false.
  
• User-definable functions
  
• User-definable local variables