
   SmallEiffel Frequently Asked Questions   Q01: Why the name SmallEiffel
   The GNU Eiffel Compiler?
   Q02: What about the version numbering?
   Q03: Is it possible to have the complete Eiffel source of
   SmallEiffel?
   Q04: Is it possible to use SmallEiffel for large/commercial
   applications?
   Q05: Is it possible to do incremental compilation with SmallEiffel?
   Q06: Is there as SmallEiffel mailing list?
   Q07: What about the Guru section?
   Q08: Is it difficult to switch from ISE to SmallEiffel?
   Q09: Are there Mirrors ftp sites for SmallEiffel?
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Q01: Why the name SmallEiffel The GNU Eiffel Compiler?  A01:
   SmallEiffel comes from the mixing of the names Smalltalk and Eiffel.
   Our aim is to offer an Eiffel development environment as easy to use
   as Smalltalk and as safe as Eiffel. Since version -0.82, SmallEiffel
   has been promoted by the Free Software Foundation the official GNU
   Eiffel Compiler.   Q02: What about the version numbering?  A02:
   Version numbering uses negative numbers. The first distributed version
   was numbered -0.99, the second one -0.98, the third -0.97, and so on.
   Version number -0.0 should correspond to the very best Eiffel compiler
   on this planet :-)    Q03: Is it possible to have the complete Eiffel
   source of SmallEiffel?  A03: Since it is GNU, the complete source code
   of SmallEiffel is in the distribution. The source code for additional
   libraries is also provided.   Q04: Is it possible to use SmallEiffel
   for large/commercial applications?  A04: It is very possible to use
   SmallEiffel for a large application. An Eiffel compiler is a really
   big project and SmallEiffel itself is fully written in (Small)Eiffel.
   SmallEiffel is completely free and any private compagny can use
   SmallEiffel freely, and distribute freely the products made with it.
   They do not have to pay royalties. However, SmallEiffel doesn't come
   with any varranty (please read the DISCLAIMER file in the
   distribution). Nonetheless, if you do want a warranty and/or an
   extended support, you will have to pay a reasonable fee (each year)
   for it. It is also possible to discuss specific needs you may have in
   your business. Please contact Dominique COLNET at colnet@loria.fr for
   more information. [You may want to do so too if you want to
   financially support the SmallEiffel team and help them keep up the
   good work !]."    Q05: Is it possible to do incremental compilation
   with SmallEiffel?  A05: Before release -0.91 the answer was no. Whith
   the current release, the answer is now YES. Because of the SmallEiffel
   type inference mechanism, SmallEiffel always produces all needed C
   files from scratch. As old C files are automatically saved, only
   modified C files are recompiled. See man/compile for details.    Q06:
   Is there a SmallEiffel mailing list? A06: Yes! SmallEiffel users and
   developpers can share their experiences and ideas by subscribing to
   the SmallEiffel official mailing list.   Q07: What about the Guru
   section?  A07: Some feature section of the SmallEiffel library are
   labelled with :
        feature -- The Guru section :
   If you really need your software to be portable on other Eiffel
   compilers, do not use those features.    Q08: Is it difficult to
   switch from ISE to SmallEiffel?  A08: If your original ISE software
   only uses simple types like INTEGER, STRING, ARRAY, BOOLEAN, CHARACTER
   and DOUBLE, it is usually very simple. It is a little bit difficult
   for simple input/output (used with predefined `io') because some
   features have different names. If your original software heavily
   relies on the EiffelBase library, it may be very difficult. For
   example, one must keep in mind that SmallEiffel.ARRAY inherit
   SmallEiffel.COLLECTION and that ISE library also have a class
   COLLECTION. By the way, subclasses of ISE.COLLECTION cannot be used.
   The ISE.LINKED_LIST can be used in conjunction with SmallEiffel.ARRAY
   because ISE.LINKED_LIST do not inherit ISE.COLLECTION (no clash).
   Q09: Are there Mirrors ftp sites for SmallEiffel?  A09: Australia
   ftp://ftp.progsoc.uts.edu.au/pub/Eiffel/SmallEiffel/
   Austria http://gd.tuwien.ac.at/pub/languages/SmallEiffel/
   USA ftp://ftp.cs.rit.edu/pub/mirrors/SmallEiffel/  [Line] Copyright
   &copy; Dominique COLNET and Suzanne COLLIN - <colnet@loria.fr> Last
   update: Friday, January 16th, 1997
