Laurence Rozier wrote:
> 
> Asymptotically Approaching Harmony wrote:
> 
> > Hi folks;
> >
> > After doing an Amazon search I just found a book called _On to
> > Smalltalk_ by Patrick Henry Winston - I really like his style, _On to
> > Java_ is one of my fave Java books by far.

I ordered this book from Amazon.com and am also extremely impressed with
it.  I'm still very new to Smalltalk so hopefully some Squeak experts
can expand on my comments below about problems with using the book to
learn Squeak.

> > So, how close is Smalltalk Express, the dialect he uses in the book,
> > to Squeak?
> 
> Extremely close.

In addition to GUI differences, file I/O is also handled quite
differently from either Smalltalk (though it's a little closer to
VisualWorks).  While I was able to figure out the basics of file I/O in
Squeak through trial and error, and looking at the Squeak source, I
couldn't figure out an easy way to approximate the nextWord message
supported by Smalltalk Express.  I'll probably write my own nextWord so
I can get past chapter 22.

The class browser is more similar to VisualWorks than to Smalltalk
Express, so it may be helpful to jump to chapter 38 and read up on that
difference.  I haven't looked at the GUI stuff yet, but hopefully it's
close enough to VisualWorks that I'll be able to figure it out without
much trouble.

-Jake