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Makeself vs Smalltalk

Professional comparison and analysis to help you choose the right software solution for your needs.

Makeself icon
Makeself
Smalltalk icon
Smalltalk

Makeself vs Smalltalk: The Verdict

⚡ Summary:

Makeself: Makeself is a small shell script that generates a self-extractable tarball for Unix. It packages software into a single executable file for easy distribution and installation.

Smalltalk: Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. It was designed for incremental code development and testing, featuring an integrated development environment, a file system, and a system command shell. It paved the way for many IDE features that are now common in other languages.

Both tools serve their respective audiences. Compare the features, pricing, and user ratings above to determine which best fits your needs.

Last updated: May 2026 · Comparison by Sugggest Editorial Team

Feature Makeself Smalltalk
Sugggest Score — —
Category Os & Utilities Development
Pricing Open Source —

Product Overview

Makeself
Makeself

Description: Makeself is a small shell script that generates a self-extractable tarball for Unix. It packages software into a single executable file for easy distribution and installation.

Type: software

Pricing: Open Source

Smalltalk
Smalltalk

Description: Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. It was designed for incremental code development and testing, featuring an integrated development environment, a file system, and a system command shell. It paved the way for many IDE features that are now common in other languages.

Type: software

Key Features Comparison

Makeself
Makeself Features
  • Creates self-extracting shell scripts
  • Packages software into a single executable file
  • Works on Unix-like systems
  • Easy distribution and installation of software
  • Compression using gzip, bzip2, lzma or xz
  • MD5 checksum verification
  • Progress bar during extraction
  • Customizable messages, prompts and license agreement
Smalltalk
Smalltalk Features
  • Object-oriented programming language
  • Live programming environment
  • Everything is an object
  • Uses message passing for communication between objects
  • Supports reflection and metaprogramming
  • Automatic memory management with garbage collection
  • Dynamically typed language

Pros & Cons Analysis

Makeself
Makeself

Pros

  • Simple and easy to use
  • Good for distributing software
  • Does not require root access or special permissions
  • Works across different Unix distributions
  • Lightweight and efficient

Cons

  • Limited to Unix-like systems
  • Not as full-featured as other packaging systems
  • No dependency handling
  • No uninstall capability
  • Lacks some advanced features
Smalltalk
Smalltalk

Pros

  • Pure object-oriented programming model makes it easy to understand code
  • Live environment enables rapid prototyping and iterative development
  • Reflection and metaprogramming allow powerful program analysis and modification
  • Garbage collection simplifies memory management
  • Dynamically typed language is flexible and reduces boilerplate code

Cons

  • Less commonly used than many other languages
  • Limited compile-time checking due to dynamic typing
  • Lack of static typing can make large programs harder to understand
  • Not designed for high-performance or system programming
  • Smaller ecosystem of third-party libraries compared to other languages

Pricing Comparison

Makeself
Makeself
  • Open Source
Smalltalk
Smalltalk
  • Not listed

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Learn More About Each Product

Makeself
Makeself
Reviews, pricing & alternatives →
Smalltalk
Smalltalk
Reviews, pricing & alternatives →

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