Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!actnyc!rmf
From: rmf@actnyc.UUCP (Robert M. Fuhrer)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
Subject: Re: Language Processing Applications
Summary: Purpose of compilerClass, evaluatorClass, etc.
Message-ID: <1009@actnyc.UUCP>
Date: 18 Jul 88 19:52:31 GMT
References: <36094@linus.UUCP>
Reply-To: rmf@actnyc.UUCP (Robert M. Fuhrer)
Organization: InterACT Corporation
Lines: 28

In article <36094@linus.UUCP> rh@linus.UUCP (Richard F. Hilliard) writes:
>
> I am aware of those classes that come with Smalltalk-80
>(ParseNode, Compiler, etc.),

Which brings up two related questions:

I endeavor to develop a small "system simulation" capability, which requires
the ability to interpret strings as Smalltalk code.  Sounds just like what
the doIt menu selection in the blue (red? yellow? I can never remember since
I'm using Apple Smalltalk 0.4 on the Mac II) button menu in the Workspace
does, doesn't it?  So, I looked through the system for the method that
implements this.  I finally found it in the class StringHolderController (or
StringHolder, I can't recall).  The method sends a message to the 'model'
instance variable to get its class, and then sends the class a message to
retrieve an evaluator for it.  I then found the implementor of
evaluatorClass (as well as compilerClass(?), and a few others) in Object (if
my memory serves correctly).

So, the two questions are:

	1) What (briefly, if possible) is the purpose in life and function of
	   the 'model' instance variable in a StringHolderController?
	2) What are the the evaluatorClass and similar messages used for?
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