>...
>In particular, what is the future of the EToy stuff?  We've heard a lot
>(and even now see) the advances in Morphic, Image Segments, and other such
>things.  However, I really like the EToy stuff (to the limited extent I
>understand it; basically exploration based on Demos I've seen the SqC
>folks do) and I would like to see that work continue.  I find the
>connection between scripted objects that dynamically generate Smalltalk
>behavior particularly nice, because it leads to different levels of
>abstraction (script the objects, or change the script primitives, or
>re-code directly in Smalltalk depending on what you want to accomplish.)
>
>Any information about the current status and direction of the EToy stuff
>would be great (at least for me, he says selfishly... :) )

Eric -

I think it can be said that everyone at Squeak Central shares your interest.  Others will probably respond in more detail, but we are actively working on...

	* an alternative syntax to ST-80 that is 100% compatible
	    (all will be revealed within the week).

	* an extension of the EToy tiles to cover all of ST-80 syntax.

	* the ability to drag and drop ST-80 expressions into tile scripts and
	    tiles into ST-80 code to bridge the gap between these two coding styles

	* an attempt to integrate browsing, inspecting, debugging both to complete
	    the above bridge and to facilitate the evolution of a program from a
	    "scratch" piece of executable code to a method with possible parameters.

	* an attempt to span the spectrum between prototype-oriented programming
	    and programming with classes by allowing development in the former style
	    together with post-facto generalization into the latter when appropriate.

The thrust here is not to "dump" Smalltalk as we know it, but simply to open up the facilities of Squeak and the underlying Smalltalk semantics to a much broader audience that might be overwhelmed by the ST-80 language and the Squeak development environment.  While the current EToy scripting system does not cover all of ST-80, all of our plans so far call for eventual extension to the entire language and system.  Thus anyone playing Squeak, even if through a different surface language, will be able to explore the entire system if they wish to do so, though this capability may be guarded by a "novice-user" preference in some cases.

As usual, there is somewhat more to do than time to do it, so it may appear that our attention to any given area is a bit spotty, but the commitment this general approach is not.

When 2.8 goes final (;-) we will also all be away for a week, and we will probably have some time to update the various project descriptions that would help you to get a sense of what is in progress, and what is likely to appear in the release in the next couple of months.

Hope this helps

	- Dan