Questions about GemStone/S

Question

I'm having a hard time understanding the big picture of GemStone for Smalltalk. I am aware of GLASS as an application server using Linux, Seaside and Apache. But I want to know if it is an usable environment for non-Seaside applications.

I'm also having trouble to finding some basic questions:

It is not clear to me if GLASS or GemStone/S is independent of the VM used. For example if I'm using a VM which supports black threads, does that mean that the GemStone/S will work transparently?

For what I've seen also it is not useful for 3D applications. For example, if my application developed in Pharo or VisualWorks uses OpenGL, may I consider GemStone/S for scaling up?

I've read that you may have objects in VisualWorks and objects in GemStone/S, but this confuses me a lot. How do I know if the object I've just created it is already persisted or in "client" side? In which case I need GemBuilder?

Answer 1

To get an understanding of the big picture of Gemstone/S, you can read Gemstone 101.

Many of your questions should be answered and some of them are also not applicable. For example, Gemstone/S is a complete Smalltalk implementation with its own VM. It also does not have a visual interface like Pharo, Squeak or Visualworks.

Answer 2

Suggestion: You need to split the question into several ones.

For example: Is GLASS or GemStone/S independent of the VM used?

No, as far as I understand the question. GemStone needs its own VM. You cannot run GemStone on a VM of another Smalltalk.