On Jul 6, 2005, at 12:27 AM, Blake wrote:
At any rate, you're certainly right that Squeak is not a "professional desktop development tool". If you're looking for one of those (and, I gather, on the Windows platform), try Dolphin.
Well, we were discussing "general acceptance" and, in my case, of what people come and ask of me. It's not a matter of me "looking for a professional desktop development tool". (Personally, I doubt I'd use any Windows-specific Smalltalk.) I will be looking for a replacement environment/tool soon for the abovementioned big app, and I suspect we'll end up using Java. (I'm not excited at the prospect, but it could be much worse.)
And, you know, it's =fine= if Squeak is never meant to be a "professional desktop development tool". If Squeak has a fundamental "failing" it might be that it tends to excite the desire to make it all things to all people. If I can use it to teach kids and experiment with cool things, that's cool.
It's just not "general acceptance".<s>
Teaching kids and experimenting - yes, Squeak's great for that. It's also great, IMNSHO, for doing professional web development - there are a few of us around whose companies are built around exactly that. And I suspect that, given a little time, it will also be great for doing professional desktop development - Rob's wxSqueak work is moving steadily in that direction. But personally, I don't think Squeak (or Smalltalk) ever will be "generally accepted" in the kind of sense you mean, and, yes, I'm fine with that.
Avi