--- Jim Benson <jb at speed.net> wrote:

> Let's use Squeak to make something better. Use Squeak as a bootstrap to
> build a worthy successor. Currently, the Squeak image is everything to
> everybody. From handheld to mainframe, you run the same image. Clearly this
> is not the optimal solution for specialized tasks. So use Squeak to make
> something better. Segment the image if you have to. Build parts that are
> missing. Take out parts you don't need. If you need help, ask. There are
> probably enough interested folks to work on a reasonable project with you.
> Just make Squeak better. Everything else falls into place from there, no
> marketing needed. That should be the focus of the Squeak community.

Because of my personal bias -- which is to build things for people I call
Inventive Users[1] -- I see Squeak Smalltalk, as it evolves, as the be-all and
end-all _tool_ in which we can _create_ the Next Big Thing that is a worthy
successor for that audience. IOW, I want to see Squeak continue to evolve along
lines that make _my_ vision attainable, that make _my_ ideas implementable by
people like me and those for whom I want to create new "stuff." I specifically
do not want to see Squeak die or morph (heh heh) into something very
un-Smalltalk-like because, for my needs, it is already quite excellent and
touching on perfection in many ways.

That said, I deeply agree with you, Jim. The whole programming paradigm for the
professional developer hasn't evolved a significant amount in 20 or more years.
I have friends who have been programming that long and they assure me that the
basics are the same. Syntax changes. Tools are better or worse, more
comfortable or obtrusive. But programming itself hasn't changed. And most of
those people agree that it needs to do so. Squeak is a great starting point for
what comes next. Just not what I happen to be interested in contributing to.
Which is, of course, what makes a circus. Or a theme park.



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