Squeak newbie comments and database question

Nathan Young nyoung at silcom.com
Mon Jun 21 20:05:31 UTC 1999


Hi.

Lots of thoughts:

I read the genuine newbie thread with interest.  I read about squeak in
the back of Wired magazine (July issue, p158), and I've been lurking on
the list since then.  I'm going through my own learning process with the
squeak.  On the one hand, the metaphors in the squeak environment are
totally different from those in the OS/application/data-file world.  On
the other hand squeak appeals on many levels as the way things should
be!  I'd love to see someone introduced to squeak as their first
computer environment; I think they'd learn a very different way of
thinking than I did.

The tutorials have been of great help to me.  I look forward to doing
the second and third morphic tutorials.  On the tutorials page, more
detailed descriptions of what the tutorials present would be welcome.  I
can also say I'd love MORE.  Specifically, a general tour of squeak
would be a treat.  On recommendation from a letter in this list I found
the flaps in a morphic project, and was blown away.  I still don't know
what most of the tools do, and would love to learn.  A tutorial on the
scripting area would also be cool.  As an early (and sometimes
frustrated) hypercard user I was enchanted by the possibilities.

I filed in Bob Arning's data input application.  I followed the
instructions to file it in from scamper, which worked like a charm
(thanks Bob).  It got me excited and raised some questions.

Here's my question about databases, and a related question about
applications.  Can I connect to an external data source from within
squeak?  Or is there another way to get at information that's not in
your image without reading it from a file?  The related question:  Is
there a way to encapsulate a squeak project into an application that
could be used by people without making them get into squeak?  An example
would be exporting Bob's data entry example as a simple address book
application...

I love the DBI interface in perl.  I love the CPAN structure.  I haven't
found the smalltalk equivalents.  I read in a message to this list that
smalltalk "missed the boat" on the web explosion (in contrast to perl
and java).  That doesn't really seem true, considering the way browsing
and email, and code updates are integrated into squeak.  Still, the
relative invisibility of smalltalk is a puzzling fact.  I'm not sure
whether to hope it gets more exposure, or to hope the community stays
small and friendly.

I'm overwhelmingly impressed with squeak.  It's currently taking up ALL
my hobby time.  I'd love to find a way to do some paying work with it.

---------------->Nathan




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Nathan Young
nathan at ncyoung.com
(805) 686-2830





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