Ben Coman (btc)
I first experienced Smalltalk around 1990 in my undergrad IT Engineering degree. It made a great impression on me. Later trendy object-oriented languages C++ and Java always seemed awkward by comparison. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to use Smalltalk professionally and it ended up consigned to the dim memory of times past.
Fifteen years later, following a career in desktop/server/network support for Windows/Unix/Linux systems, I needed a new direction. In 2005 I began postgrad study for a Masters of Engineering Technology in Power Systems. This provided me the opportunity in 2006 to start my career as an electrical engineer.
In 2011, my Project & Dissertation looms upon me. I entertained the idea of developing an engineering design tool. In the process of searching for a suitable development platform, I happened upon Squeak & Morphic. Working through tutorials was quite exciting. The system seemed to provide a lot that would allow more focus on exploring the application domain, rather than getting caught upfront in the minutiae of programming.
This blog is a diary to record the experience of learning Squeak and its offshoots. We are not the same as yesterday. Smalltalk is an exploratory system and by the time we might be confident to contribute back to the main documentation, it can be hard to revisit our history and escape our new intrinsic knowledge of the system. The aim here is to reflect on the process of discovery as it happens.
Contact me if you are interested in contributing.