Download:
Pharo Open Source Smalltalk – Release 1.1.
Here’s another great resource on learning Pharo:
Dynamic Web Development with Seaside
I read this and enjoyed it greatly. Great job of getting one up and running on Seaside.
Smalltalk Labs Browser for blogs released!
Smalltalk Labs Browser for blogs is available…. NOW!
http://slbrowserfb.appspot.com interactive installation instructions are at the very bottom (click on “configuration”).
It’s free and open source, licensed under the Apache License Version 2.0 (both the client and the server). I had originally planned to release this under the MIT license but the Apache License was a better fit for reasons too numerous to name here.
More here: Smalltalk Labs – Smalltalk Labs Browser for blogs released!.
The Zen of Smalltalk Algorithm Coding
Postponed due to the weather until next wednesday.
Bio:
Florin Mateoc is a professional programmer for more than 20 years. He has programmed in Fortran, assembly, Basic, C, C++, Smalltalk, Java and C#. He is not a Smalltalk bigot,he does not think that Smalltalk is either perfect or the end of the evolutionary line of programming languages. He just thinks that nothing better has come along yet. Since discovering Smalltalk in 1995, he has worked with Enfin/ObjectStudio, VisualWorks and VisualAge and he has played with Squeak. He has especiallyenjoyed developing tools: he has contributed improvements to the profilers in VisualWorks, he has developed collaboration (patch and release management) and comparison tools on top of Envy, he has worked on type inferencing for Smalltalk and on automatic translation from Smalltalk to Java.
Abstract:
Taking to heart some advice from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Florin has taken a truly circuitous route to what started as an intention to develop some better comparison tools. This took him to investigate longest common subsequence algorithms, then to a naive implemention in Smalltalk of a classic algorithm (Hirschberg), then playing with more and more optimized versions, through the discovery of an algorithmic improvement, and finally fighting the inadequacies of simple time recording and profiling tools for fine-grained performance measurements.
Please stop by and visit with us on Dec 1st , 2010 where our long time friend Florin will be discussing how his Smalltalk implementation of a classic algorithm and how the Zen of Smalltalk made it possible.
As always our meetings are open to the general public, so bring a friend.
6:30 – 7pm and the presentation starts 7pm.
Please make note of our new directions:
60 East 42nd Street, Suite 914
Now Leaving Flatland…
Abstract:
If you enjoy frequent (and long) personal breaks while waiting for your code to compile, stop reading now. If tears of pride well up every time you behold the library of books you steamed through to learn C++, don’t come to this presentation. We’ll be talking about Squeak & Pharo – active, open source, production-quality Smalltalk, and what makes it the baddest language on the block… 30 years later! You may never have the heart to open your Java IDE again – here’s why:
* Productivity – 2.5 times more productive than Java or C++, with less errors
* Easy to learn – sending messages to objects is the only concept
* Fun – write only code that matters, just the way you want; make any part of the system work how you say it should
Bio:
Sean DeNigris is the President and Lead Scientist of Clipper Adams, a NYC-based consulting firm. His mission is to support people in fulfilling on what matters to them. Therefore, most of his current work is on realizing Doug Engelbart’s vision of making a difference in the world by using computers to enhance human intellect. For ten years, he has gotten into the minds of users and created the business software they would have created (if they knew how to program). He is also a regular contributor to Squeak and Pharo, and participates in the Smalltalk community and its conferences world-wide.
Please join us on wed, Sept 22, 2010. We are located right by Grand Central , we have an open house from 6:30 – 7pm and the presentation starts 7pm. Please make note of our new directions:
60 East 42nd Street, Suite 914
Twittering from Smalltalk
First presentation of the year is by our good friend James Robertson. Please note that our venue has changed. Our very gracious and kind host Gerard has moved to the Grand Central Area of town.
The new address is:
60 East 42nd Street, Suite 914
I will update the site soon, just got back from a quick vacation visiting my 91 year old Dad.
Details:
Bio:
http://www.jarober.com/blog/blogView?content=aboutMe
Abstract:
Smalltalk and network APIs – I’ll talk about, and demonstrate, interfaces to services like Twitter and Facebook, as well as some simple examples of building RESTful interfaces within Smalltalk.
We’ll of course go out for drinks after the meeting . Bring a friend.
Visit by Julian Fitzell co-creator of Seaside
Julian Fitzell which along with Avi Bryant co-created Seaside is coming through town and wanted to stop by and visit with us. So we figure we would catch up with what he is doing with Squeak and of course go for drinks afterwards.
The meeting is on the 10th. Same time same place. Open house at 6:30 , presentation at 7pm.
See you all there.
Bio:
Julian Fitzell is, among other things, the co-creator of the Seaside
framework. He currently works as an independent consultant, providing
Seaside and Smalltalk consulting, development, and training.
Julian has contributed to numerous other open-source projects
including Monticello, Squeak and Pharo Smalltalks, the Mantis bug
tracker, and Dovecot mail server. He has been using Smalltalk since he
made the jump from Ruby in about 2001. Over the past 18 months, he has
lived in China and Germany as well as his original hometown:
Vancouver, Canada.
Abstract:
Seaside is a rare example of software that runs on all the major
Smalltalk platforms: Pharo, Gemstone, GNU Smalltalk, Squeak, VA
Smalltalk, and VisualWorks. We’ll take a look at some of the
challenges in keeping the framework portable and some of the
techniques the team has developed to deal with these. Along the way we
may also touch on tools such as Grease, Slime, and Monticello and how
they help the process. And then we’ll see where the discussion
lead
Return To Smalltalk
Join us on November 18th for Dan Antion’s experience report on their return to Smalltalk.
Bio:
Daniel Antion is Vice President, Information Services at American Nuclear Insurers. He is responsible for the overall planning and implementation of technology and communication services for ANI and is part of a team addressing Enterprise Content Management. Dan is also responsible for technical and ECM training. ANI is a small but technically oriented company so Dan’s view is both from 30,000 feet and from in the trenches.
Dan has been working in Smalltalk since 1994 and develops most of ANI’s transaction processing systems. Dan has presented at Smalltalk Solutions, OOPSLA and the AIIM Expo on topics related to systems development, content management and SharePoint.
Talking Points:
1) Why we were driven away from Smalltalk – I think our environment is not unlike many shops in that we have good, solid but aging systems lacking hooks into modern technology
2) The analysis round #1 – In our first study, Smalltalk (and our other existing platform) lost big time to C#.
3) Turning Points – There were several bits of information that came to the surface as we started to make our move that made us want to reconsider our decision. These are the things that I think would be most useful for others in a similar situation.
4) Analysis round #2 – This was harder. We had already announced our plans and now we had to argue against our previous decision but still look like we knew what we were talking about.
5) Revised Direction – I’m not sure we saved Smalltalk forever but we bought it some serious time. The technical details that work for Smalltalk include its stability, malleability and extensibility. We still have concerns but we think they can be mitigated.
From Smalltalk to Ruby – and back again ?
Please join us for our next meeting on Oct. 21st where Paul Bennett will give his Smalltalker’s perspective on Ruby based on his recent experiences.
The presentation starts at 7 pm , however there is an open house from 6:30. Presentations are generally up to 1.5 hours after which most of us go to a local pub and continue the discussion there. Our meetings are opened to the general public , so bring a friend.
Bio and abstract provided by Paul below:
Bio:
Hi, I’m Paul Bennett, president, janitor and teaboy of Prajna Inc, an
independent software consulting firm based in NYC. I’ve been building
software systems for over 25 years, and have extensive experience in
the architecture, building and specification of custom, large-scale
enterprise IT systems, mostly in Smalltalk. My clients have included
MorganStanley, Keyspan/National Grid and JPMorganChase. I’ve also had
major exposure to C/C++, and have also built a couple of Java
projects. I’m currently oriented to programming in Ruby and Erlang.
Abstract:
“From Smalltalk to Ruby – and back again ?”
Ward Cunningham once said “I always knew Smalltalk would make a
comeback, but I didn’t know it would be called Ruby”. Is Ruby really
the new Smalltalk? In this talk, I’ll introduce Ruby and it’s context,
explore some of it’s more interesting features and defects, and
describe what I think Smalltalk, and the Smalltalk community, might
offer it.
How Groovy is Groovy ?
abstract: we will start off with a survey of main language features esp. what makes groovy dynamic. then see some metaprogramming tricks that make it easy to work with xml and gui builders and creation of internal DSLs. finally touch on the grails web framework. there will be lots of demos along the way to show how programming in groovy can be fun.
bio: Numan Salati has a master’s in computer science from georgia tech speciallizing in artificial intelligence and has programmed professionally in java and python for over 3 years. He likes learning programming languages, traveling and reading.
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Date: Sept 23rd , 2009