[Newbies] MVC programs don't work in Squeak 4.1

[David T. Lewis]

On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 09:34:59AM -0400, David Burton wrote:
> First, please forgive me if this is a F.A.Q., but I can't seem to find any
> search
> facility for this email list.  (Is there one?  Where??)
> 
> I last used Smalltalk about 20 years ago, and now I'm trying to port that
> old MVC
> program to Squeak 4.1 under Windows Vista 32-bit (though "Display version
> information"
> in VM Preferences says it is 4.0.2 rather than 4.1).
> 
> I've run into lots of frustrations with the Squeak user interface,
> documentation, etc.,
> but I've muddled through.  After fixing various obsolete methods, my program
> seemed
> to run right up to the point where it sent the open message to the
> controller.  Then it
> died on the last line of the open method for StandardSystemController.
> 
> That method is very short:
> 
> open
>     "Create an area on the screen in which the receiver's scheduled view can
> 
>     be displayed. Make it the active view."
> 
>     view resizeInitially.
>     status := #open.
>     ScheduledControllers scheduleActive: self
> 
> It dies sending the scheduleActive: message to class ScheduledControllers.
> When I try to step "Into" the method using the debugger, it goes directly to
> UndefinedObject(Object)>>doesNotUnderstand: #scheduleActive:
> 
> self  is a StandardSystemController.
> 
> The class ScheduledControllers isn't even visible in the Browser.
> 
> What on earth is going on?  How can the StandardSystemController's open
> method
> be sending a message to an undefined class?!?
> 
> I found a discussion of this problem on the web at
> http://objectmix.com/smalltalk/16883-mvc-example-squeak.html
> and it seems that Squeak doesn't work with MVC programs unless you
> explicitly
> open an MVC project.
> 
> Well, okay, but how hard would it have been to just put a proper error check
> and
> helpful message into the open method of StandardSystemController?
> 
> So I did Projects -> New Project -> New MVCroject, and I got a blank screen,
> with nothing on it at all.  Any of the 3 mouse buttons brings up the same
> very short menu.
> 
> Since the 3 mouse buttons all do the same thing, I wondered if the Mouse
> preferences might be wrong, but I've verified that "3 button mouse" is
> selected in VM Preferences.  (I experimentally tried setting it to "1 button
> mouse" or both or neither, but nothing made any difference.)
> 
> That menu was pretty opaque, but finally I managed to Open Browser.  But
> the System Browser looks bad (it's missing the "class" button, for
> instance).
> 
> When I tried to open file list, the whole Squeak system froze.  (Well, the
> mouse cursor moves, but none of the mouse buttons do anything; I had to kill
> it with Process Explorer.)
> 
> I restarted and tried Open -> file...
> 
> This was a little better -- it tried to paint a file browser, but failed
> for the most part.  Rolling the mouse wheel up and down revealed some file
> names, but nothing would make it do anything with those files.
> It painted a big red ugly "accept" button, which I tried clicking, but the
> whole Squeak system just froze again.
> 
> So... is Squeak unusable for MVC programs?  Or is there some trick that
> I don't know?
> 
> Dave

Recent versions of Squeak are unusable for MVC programs. I suggest that
you use Squeak 3.8, which is available here:

  http://ftp.squeak.org/3.8/

All versions of Squeak since 3.8 have problems with MVC to varying degrees,
so 3.8 is really the last useable version. Hopefully these issues will
be addressed, but for now you should just use and older version that works.
BTW, the older versions of Squeak are well worth browsing regardless. I
would particularly suggest taking a look at 3.6 just for fun :)

HTH,
Dave