You’ve decided to expand your horizons. You’ve been programming exclusively in Java (or C++, or Perl, or Ruby) for a while now. You’re happy and productive, but you have this nagging feeling that you’re solving problems by rote rather than thinking as creatively as you once did. Learning a new language, especially one that forces you to re-examine some of your notions about software development, may be just the ticket.
Smalltalk for Everyone Else
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSAlert.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
In a geeky way, I’ve always found learning a new programming language a refreshing exercise.
Yeah, same here.
doesn’t C count?:-)
If you come from the ruby side it does not make sense to learn smalltalk unless you are interested in the godfather of dynamic OO languages.
If you are in the java or C world, then please do it.
Nice to see a Smalltalk article here.
I cut my OO teeth on Smalltalk (Digitalk Smalltalk for OS/2 to be precise, followed by Visual Smalltalk 3 and then Cincom Smalltalk. I’ve also dabbled in VisualAge Smalltalk).
I have never since found a language as simple to learn, as elegant, or as powerful from an application developer’s point of view. At the bank/financial institutions where I worked we were literally knocking out applications in days where it used to take weeks. Weeks where it used to take months.
I’ve been following the propress of Ambrai Smalltalk on OSX, and hope to see that released soon. Then I will be a very happy bunny indeed, especially as they plan to fully integrate it with Cocoa.
Not to start a flame war or anything, just wondering:
What does Smalltalk have to offer me that Python doesn’t? I’m not familiar with Smalltalk, but I have been working heavily in Python for a little over 16 months now (I have a fairly extensive background in PC programming languages though).
I read the article, and some parts of Smalltalk remind me strongly of Object Pascal (Borland’s version, anyway).
Smalltalk gives you powerful live enviroment, with impresive easy to develope & debugging techniques.
Thats the only thing that I miss with ruby or others dynamic langs.
Smalltalk is the most underrated language of all time, altough it’s the father of dynamic languages (garbage collection and dynamic typing in the 80’s!). It’s extremely powerful but so simple. If you’ve ever screamed at a Java or C++ debugging process, you should see Smalltalk.
Try SEASIDE, the Web toolkit for Smalltalk. It’s hyperflexible (you can type and edit code while looking at your HTML/CSS rendering).
It’s amazing.
It’s a pity that Smalltalk didn’t receive the corporate funding that Sun put on Java, which is one of the most horrible things I’ve seen in my life.
ALso try: Dolphin SMalltalk (www.object-arts.com)
Visualworks 7 (www.cincomsmalltalk.com)
Instantations now is selling VA/Smalltalk 7.0 (with prices exceeding $5000) but I don’t know if they offer trial or free versions of VAST.
Lisp is the father of dynamic languages. Garbage collection and dynamic typing before Smalltalk ever existed.
Smalltalk actually received a fair amount of corporate funding. Heck, I was programming in VisualAge Smalltalk in 1995. It probably doesn’t work out to be anything like what Java obtained marketing-wise, but Java was fortunate-enough to ride the Internet bubble while Smalltalk was falling out of favor.
I would that it is one of the two best programming languages not really used in the mainstream.
Dolphin Smalltalk is definitely quite slick.
The source code for the Strong Talk system was recently released by Sun.
Edited 2006-09-25 17:23
“Lisp is the father of dynamic languages. Garbage collection and dynamic typing before Smalltalk ever existed.”
Although this is true, I’d like to mention that Common Lisp borrowed its OO system from Smalltalk, and so have influenced each other.
CLOS is a multiple dispatch system based around the idea of generic functions, while Smalltalk is a single dispatch system modeled around message passing. CLOS circuitously derives from similarities with Smalltalk via LOOPS. CLOS however is not that much like the Smalltalk object model.
http://www2.parc.com/istl/members/stefik/loops.html
http://www.dreamsongs.com/NewFiles/ECOOP.pdf
“Instantations now is selling VA/Smalltalk 7.0 (with prices exceeding $5000) but I don’t know if they offer trial or free versions of VAST.”
Thanks for the heads up, I didn’t know that VA had survived the IBM end-of-support.
From their web page, it seems that VA7 is pretty much IBM VA 6.0.3, feature wise. Fortunately, I downloaded the free for non-commercial use image of VA before IBM pulled it. I think it is at 6.0.1 though.
It was funny to see Window Builder Pro still selling, albeit for Java now. That was my second ever GUI buidling tool, after Gupta SQL Windows which was in turn the first time I had ever done event-driven programming.
Ah, nostalgia!
Smalltalk hat enough corporate funding, Parcplace, Siemens IBM etc.. you name it, the reason why it went down was a lot of stupidty and political issues surrounding the ParcPlace digitalk fiasco in the mid 90s.
Also that the last norm was pushed around 92 did not help the language either, not we have lots of rather incompatible implementations lots of extensions, but no standard which is close to what .Net or Java have to offer.
Java did not win over Smalltalk due to better language design, it won, because Parcplace killed itself and with it the entire Smalltalk market in their own arrogance, and the rest was done by finally having one single language over lots of platforms with an extensive classlib which is standardized.
(One of the many reasons why java took over C++ in the server arena as well)
There’s still plenty of opportunity for ST to make a comeback. It simply needs a home, updated books, marketing and corp. support.
SUN has Java, MS has C#, Apple has Objective-C, What language does IBM have these days besides REXX?…for now, they’re just another Java also ran.
Suggest they buy Cinicom, merge all improvements into Visualge SmallTalk, hire Alan Kay & team, unify the platform as a real business alternative. Secondly, embrace the squeak community and help grow SmallTalk!!
In the process, take some spotlight away from SUN and turn it towards Big Blue; make MS nervous, get revenge on Apple for the switch to Intel.
I normally develop on Visualworks, because I’m happy with it (Dolphin is incredible, but the community edition does not allow to create standalone apps).
Anyone knows the advantages of VisualAge Smalltalk over Visualworks (aka Cincom Smalltalk)?