From owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Sun Aug 24 23:43:28 2014 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [8.8.178.115]) (using TLSv1 with cipher ADH-AES256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id E7C92BD3; Sun, 24 Aug 2014 23:43:28 +0000 (UTC) Received: from mail.iXsystems.com (newknight.ixsystems.com [206.40.55.70]) (using TLSv1 with cipher DHE-RSA-CAMELLIA256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (Client CN "*.ixsystems.com", Issuer "Go Daddy Secure Certification Authority" (verified OK)) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id BE5493120; Sun, 24 Aug 2014 23:43:27 +0000 (UTC) Received: from localhost (mail.ixsystems.com [10.2.55.1]) by mail.iXsystems.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 905947EB37; Sun, 24 Aug 2014 16:43:27 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail.iXsystems.com ([10.2.55.1]) by localhost (mail.ixsystems.com [10.2.55.1]) (maiad, port 10024) with ESMTP id 79735-04; Sun, 24 Aug 2014 16:43:27 -0700 (PDT) Received: from [10.14.123.184] (mobile-166-171-249-079.mycingular.net [166.171.249.79]) (using TLSv1 with cipher AES128-SHA (128/128 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by mail.iXsystems.com (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 2A2BD7EB30; Sun, 24 Aug 2014 16:43:27 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=simple/simple; d=ixsystems.com; s=newknight0; t=1408923807; bh=+Hx1PYBcgGY99sq9jV79R1Vgyy4hPUhRiA4DGEJJFYI=; h=References:In-Reply-To:Cc:From:Subject:Date:To; b=G5sgu+gUXAsdkTyHYyAObzdso2T3e6i7EqiawIvbbQ/o4GLia495CCLXYuGApNtBX Uju/V3zN/oTGhK3ez6Fy7/bp9bkF/mFRfkcpDofZAmzOcIDf3EOXLmhnOjwn9+9/uf PcE3++h2vy3nKRGYOOiZPXlVPdX+MZSld60YL4zY= References: <3D62F4F4-ECCF-4622-BB57-D028160F3451@freebsd.org> <157901cfbe83$6cbf18d0$463d4a70$@FreeBSD.org> <16e101cfbfee$42b3b930$c81b2b90$@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <16e101cfbfee$42b3b930$c81b2b90$@FreeBSD.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 (1.0) Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Message-Id: <5FE57E4E-A627-4ABA-AB73-F0D60A3602D5@ixsystems.com> X-Mailer: iPhone Mail (11D257) From: Jordan Hubbard Subject: Re: Lua in the bootloader Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 16:43:24 -0700 To: "" Cc: "" , Pedro Giffuni , "Wojciech A. Koszek" , Pedro Arthur X-BeenThere: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.18-1 Precedence: list List-Id: Technical Discussions relating to FreeBSD List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 23:43:29 -0000 > limitations that I battle in Forth are significant enough > that I'd like to see if Lua can break said chains (such as > "dictionary full" errors causing BTX halt -- induced simply > by adding "too many functions" in Forth). I'm not one to stand in the way of progress either, but just to make sure we= are not foolishly conflating "language" with "environment" here: You do al= l realize that ficl can have any sized dictionary you want, right? Presumab= ly, it's kept small due to the limitations of the boot loader environment, a= nd Lua is not going to magically transcend those limitations. Writing lots o= f boot code in Lua will require memory, perhaps even MORE memory since, say w= hat you like about Forth, it's hard to get more concise or compact than a Fo= rth dictionary of compiled CFA's. That's why we picked it for the role in t= he first place.=20 So anyway, first try expanding the size of the dictionary. If that can't be d= one, now you know your "ceiling" for Lua. Can you stay below it, not just n= ow but longer term? Those are the questions you need to answer. - Jordan=