[Squeakfoundation]A Draft for the Relationship Between SqF and SqC.

[Dan Ingalls]

=46olks -

Squeak Central's Charter
=46irst of all, for juxtaposition with the evolving charter for SqF, here's=
 a charter for Squeak Central:
To bring science to life for children of all ages.

A goal that follows directly is:
To produce a computing environment that brings science to life for children=
 of all ages.

[Note:  I haven't really cleared this with anyone, but it's close enough for=
 discussing the relationship between Squeak Central and the Squeak=
 Foundation to be (*)].

Imagine an environment that could be approached as a music application, a=
 numerical application, a graphics application, or a symbolic application. =
 In every area, the underlying functionality is accessible to the user, just=
 as are the top-level user functions.  In this way the operations on musical=
 entities, textual entities, graphical objects and numerical structures,=
 would all be seen to be similar, described and combined in the same=
 language.  A system so uniform and so accessible would allow not only a=
 deep understanding of how it worked, but also the ability to construct new=
 and unanticipated active worlds limited only by the imagination of the=
 user.  This is what we mean by bringing science to life.

Squeak is the underlying vehicle for this work.  It is our system of choice=
 because it is...
	Simple
	Powerful
	Malleable
	Open
	Runs Identically on all Major Platforms
These features make the vehicle interesting and useful for a larger=
 community of users than just SqC.

SqC, by its charter, ultimately must choose to advance its goals over=
 serving the needs of the rest of the Squeak community.  Similarly, the=
 Squeak community might decide at any time to advance its cause without=
 concern for the goals of SqC (the so called "forking" option).

I personally, and Squeak Central as a whole, have always enjoyed, and=
 appreciated the value of, the social and technical contributions made by=
 the larger Squeak community, and we have always tried to steer a course=
 that would keep that synergy alive.

A Charter for the Sqeak Foundation
We have reached a crossroads where the complexity of the system, the volume=
 of code offered for inclusion, the needs of the Squeak developers and=
 users, all exceed the ability for a single person or even an informal=
 affinity group to coordinate progress in a manner that is satisfactory to a=
ll.

Hopefully the Squeak Foundation could take over the task of maintaining and=
 improving Squeak as a vehicle in a manner that is an expression of, and=
 serves the needs of, the Squeak community beyond (but including) Squeak Cen=
tral.

The Relationship Between SqC and SqF
I would be willing, individually and as representative for Squeak Central as=
 a whole, to work with or as a part of SqF to continue and maximize the=
 synergy between SqC and the larger Squeak community.

This would mean...
	Communicating near- and long-term plans of SqC to avoid
		duplication or conflict with related plans of SqF
	Addressing points of apparent conflict and contributing to=20
		solutions that maximize the synergy of=20
		a common language and computing environment.
	Contributing code that enhances the Squeak base system
	Producing and maintaining a special SqC image appropriate
		for our (SqC's) end users.

This can be looked at as a role that is similar to other Squeak special=
 interest groups, who might also have a similar relationship to SqF.  In=
 that sense SqF would actually be more "central" vis-a-vis the Squeak base=
 image.  Other satellite groups might have special interests such as=
 TinySqueak for PDAs, MVC-Squeak for MVC apps, ServerSqueak for Swikis and=
 the like, etc.  SqC's special interest would be a Squeak that supports=
 scriptable multimedia content distributed over the internet.

Your Comments
I think this kind of relationship could work for both SqC and for SqF as=
 people have been envisioning it.  But it's only one opinion at this point. =
 I would like *not* to issue this message to the full Squeak list until=
 there has been some discussion from those who have been thinking seriously=
 about SqF, after they have had a chance to ponder this kind of relationship=
 to SqC.

Also, even if we all agreed mostly, it will take time to bring such a=
 relationship into existence.  I know it would be shocking to SqC, to=
 suddenly have to migrate to a new base system such as Stable Squeak, and=
 I'm sure SqF would not want urgent messages coming in from SqC saying we=
 need to change this or that by tomorrow.  Given time, though, I think SqC=
 and the people seriously interested in SqF could set out a plan for orderly=
 evolution of the base image and the various major extensions that would=
 cover the needs of the Squeak user community.

I have a bunch of thoughts on more specific project topics, but I'd like to=
 hear back first from others on this list regarding how they feel this=
 "position statement" fits in with what they would like SqF to become.

Thanks
	- Dan, for all of us at Squeak Central


(*)  There's simply no substitute for hearing Alan's presentations.  But=
 another of our goals is:  that there *will soon be* a substitute,=
 accessible to everyone connected to the internet.