Changes for Release 0.1.6

• Java Run-Time Flags: The JVM which runs the main foundry node can now be customized using the JAVAFLAGS field in the foundry.conf file. This field defines the set of command line flags that should be passed when starting the main java virtual machine.
• Logs: The log structure has been cleaned up a bit. There are now three logs: Actor, ShellService and System. The System log is the new addition and encapsulates all the information that used to go into the LogGC log and the ActorImplGC log. The System log is designed to be a low-volume general system logger.
• BasicActorImpl: This class is now much more modular, and should be easier to reuse. In particular, the initialization and message processing behavior inside the main run loop have been moved into separate functions which may be called by extensions. This minimizes the amount of code that needs to be rewritten if an inheritor decides to implement their own run loop.
• BasicActorManager: This implementation has been streamlined a bit to make it a little more efficient and thread safe. In the current implementation, a new separate thread is spawned to handle messages sent between actors on the same node. This frees up the sender which, before, had to stay with the deliver until the receiver put it in its mail queue. Haven't determined how much overhead this incurs, but I suspect its inconsequential.
• Bug Fixes: A few important ones here:
  • The "fatal error in GC thread" exception that some people were seeing in the request handler has been fixed.
  • A bug in nsRemove in the "simple" nameservice implementation was fixed.