[Squeakland] Can EToys Teach Me to Program in Squeak?

Valerie Scarlata valscarlata at gmail.com
Mon Jul 10 16:37:44 PDT 2006


Greg,

I was new to programming in general when I started using Squeak.
Perhaps Open Croquet, Scratch, and Tweak (other environments Squeak
people are working on, but still have some basis in Squeak) will,
when they mature, be what you are looking for.  If you stick it out
and really try to get into  object oriented programming concepts and
implementation through Squeak / Etoys, you will understand other
environments and languages so much better.

I am a graphic artist as well, and I went to school with lots of other
artists finicky about programming - wanting it to be easy and less
math like, but it takes time.  I stuck it out, even going through
really old Smalltalk tutorials.  Because of Squeak I really do
understand what I'm doing in other languages.

It's true, Squeak isn't pretty and flashy, but it is a really powerful
environment.  It just takes some time and dedication to reap the
benefits of learning how to program through it.  After working with
other languages, sometimes I wish everything was like Squeak / Etoys.
Try modeling something in Java, then do it in Etoys.  You'll wish Java
was Etoys.  I guarantee it.

Valerie Scarlata


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