[Nostalgia] Apple APDA Smalltalk-80

Alejandro F. Reimondo aleReimondo at smalltalking.net
Sun Jan 18 16:21:39 UTC 2004


Hi Stef,

Smalltalk/V run on DOS and can be run inside a DOS window on any Windows PC.
Smalltalk/V286 requieres a PC with DOS and 80286CPU (it does not run on 386
machines because the v286version has been published before the intel
specification for extended memory, and as windows adopted for DOS another
specification, v286 does not run on DOS with 386 cpu).

Smalltalk/v286 requieres a minimum of 80286, DOS and 1.2MbRAM to run.
It run VERY fast and the image is small. I have used stv/286 for developing
medical applications (capture of neural signals and making reports for EEG)
during near 2years (1989-1991) with great fun and success.
In 1991 (aprox) I adopted st/vWin (now express) and start to be constrained
by Windows :-).
I used the Acumen product for programming GUI and was *very* powerfull; it
was the origin of the WindowsBuilder product line.

I have Smalltalk/V and Smalltalk/V286+Accumen + more software
 in digital format with sources.
I have runned Smalltalk/V & V286 again during last year because a firend of
mine needs a Prolog compiler for Smalltalk/VWin and I ported the V286
version to Express... (it was very easy, only 3or4 methods must be
implemented to refine the smalltalk compiler framework and extend classes to
Prolog/V).

I remember those years where people only talk about text menues that popUp
and dissapear leaving the old screen characters ...and we was working on
graphical widgets and mouse.
People did not saw the power of GUIs in those days, Smalltalkers has had a
very important tool to see the future.
Today, most people cannot see more far than programming languages, visual
programming, components and formal methods for expressing architectures...
as the most of Smalltalkers :-(

cheers,
Ale.


----- Original Message -----
From: "ducasse" <ducasse at iam.unibe.ch>
To: "The general-purpose Squeak developers list"
<squeak-dev at lists.squeakfoundation.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2004 12:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Nostalgia] Apple APDA Smalltalk-80


> hi boris
>
> on which machines are you running that. I would really love to have
> access to such a running system.
> I only have a mac. Would it be possible to have access to this code.
>
> Stef
>
>
> On 18 janv. 04, at 17:04, Boris Gaertner wrote:
>
> > ducasse <ducasse at iam.unibe.ch> wrote:
> >
> >
> >> Hi Dave
> >>
> >> could you tell us a bit the size (number of classes...) of these
> >> systems? or other information you find revelant.
> >> I'm interested in Smalltalk-76 to deeply understand a Smalltalk from
> >> top to bottom.
> >> stef
> >
> > Here are some figures for two old Smalltalks
> > from Digitalk:
> >
> > Smalltalk V R1.2: (useable on a 8086)
> >
> > number of classes: 115
> > number of methods:  2147
> > size of image: approx. 220 KBytes
> >
> > Smalltalk V/286: (required an 80286)
> >
> > number of classes:  130
> > number of methods: 2486
> > size of image: approx. 500 KBytes
> >
> >
> > Expression to find the number of classes:
> >  Object allSubclasses size
> >
> > Expression to find the number of methods:
> >  CompiledMethod allInstances size
> >
> > Both products used different object formats and
> > that fact explains the remarkable difference of
> > the images sizes for two systems that were otherwise
> > very similar in size.
> > --------------------------------------
> >
> > The number of classes as well as the number of methods
> > includes the invisible classes and methods of the
> > Compiler. Smalltalk V/286 contained 16 invisible
> > classes that implemented both the Smalltalk compiler
> > and a compiler for the Prolog that was part of that
> > product.
> >
> > The "view hierachy":
> > Pane
> >   SubPane
> >     GraphPane
> >     ListPane
> >     TextPane
> >   TopPane
> >
>
> make me thinking :)
>
> > That was all and it was enough to create beautiful
> > applications. ( But a lot of programmers added
> > specialized Panes, which was quite easy.)
> >
> > I remember also that a really nice interface builder
> > was available from Acumen Software (later
> > Cooper & Peters, Inc.) , but  I cannot give you
> > figures about the product because I do not have it.
> > It was decribed in
> > Smalltalk/V Scoop, vol. III No. 4, 1990
> > The same newsletter describes also
> > ENVY/Developer, a program that was
> > available for Smalltalk V/286.
> >
> > Greetings, Boris
> >
> >
> >
>
>




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