The Evolution and Impact of Smalltalk: A Personal Journey and Insights
As a seasoned SEO professional at Google, I delve into the fascinating world of programming languages, exploring their evolution, benefits, and drawbacks. One language that has captured my interest is Smalltalk. Tracing its origins and impact, I share my personal journey with this remarkable programming language and insights into its unique features.
Introduction to Smalltalk
Smalltalk was first introduced to me during a summer job at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, where I was given the opportunity to implement Smalltalk on the Three Rivers PERQ. This background was rooted in the publication of the Blue Book Smalltalk-80: The Language and its Implementation by Xerox PARC in 1983. My implementation, named BrouHaHa, was inspired by the song 'Elephant Talk' by King Crimson.
Advantages of Smalltalk
Smalltalk stands out for its humanistic design, reflecting a philosophy where computers are seen as personal tools to be used by everyone. The language boasts a simple, readable, and expressive syntax that prioritizes good-looking text and graphics. It has been used effectively in music and education, making it a versatile choice for developers and educators alike.
The language's consistency and openness are another significant advantage. As a reflective system, everything within Smalltalk is an object. Classes define objects, and classes themselves are objects, making it easy to extend and customize the system to suit specific needs. The live coding experience is a standout feature, as one can redefine classes and methods on the fly, leading to immediate updates in the system's state.
Image and Live Coding
A unique aspect of Smalltalk is the image concept. All objects in the system are saved in an image file, which can be loaded to exactly the same state as when last saved. This concept, combined with the live coding experience, allows for a highly customized and flexible development environment. The language's 'doesNotUnderstand:' message handler enables transparent distributed systems and OO-relational mapping via proxies.
Liveliness and Incrementality
One of the most compelling features of Smalltalk is its liveness. Since the VM is implemented in Smalltalk itself, one can extend the system one method and one class definition at a time. This incremental extension capability results in immediate updates to class instances. This live coding experience is a key element in the development methodology of Kent Beck's SUnit framework.
Overlapping Windows and Bitmapped Graphics
Smalltalk pioneered the concept of overlapping windows, pop-up menus, and bitmapped graphics, all of which were first developed in the language. These innovations have since been adopted across the computing industry, influencing how we interact with software today.
Adoption and Impact
Despite not having a major manufacturer behind it, Smalltalk remains a powerful and popular system. It is still used today, particularly in the Squeak and Pharo environments. It offers a high degree of productivity and fun, making it a favorite among developers. Smalltalk's open nature and extensive community have ensured its continued relevance and growth.
Conclusion
Smalltalk's unique features and philosophies continue to make it a valuable tool in the programming ecosystem. Its impact on software development, particularly in the areas of live coding, reflective systems, and humanistic programming, is undeniable. I highly recommend trying Squeak or Pharo to experience the power and flexibility of Smalltalk for yourselves. For those who might find the curly braces off-putting, Smalltalk may not be for everyone, but for those open-minded enough to explore it, the rewards are immense.
For a more immersive experience, I recommend visiting the Squeak website or the Pharo website to dive into the world of Smalltalk.