Pharo

Pharo

Pharo is an open-source, cross-platform programming language and integrated development environment focused on live programming. It is object-oriented and dynamically typed, designed for creating custom business applications, financial analytic tools, visualization software, and
Pharo image
opensource crossplatform objectoriented dynamically-typed live-programming ide

Pharo: Open-Source, Cross-Platform Live Programming Language

Pharo is an open-source, cross-platform programming language and integrated development environment focused on live programming. It is object-oriented and dynamically typed, designed for creating custom business applications, financial analytic tools, visualization software, and more.

What is Pharo?

Pharo is an open-source, cross-platform programming language and integrated development environment focused on live programming. It is based on Smalltalk, so it features a live object-oriented programming system. The Pharo project started in 2008 with the goal of creating an open, innovative environment for industrial and research projects.

Some key features of Pharo include:

  • Live programming - Changes to code can be made while the system is running, without needing to restart or recompile. This aids rapid application development.
  • Cross-platform - Pharo code can run across Windows, MacOS, and Linux systems.
  • Open-source - Licensed under the MIT License, the full source code is available for modification and redistribution.
  • Rich ecosystem - Many frameworks and libraries available for web development, financial analysis, scientific computing, GUI construction, and more.
  • Inspector tools - Powerful object inspectors and debuggers aid understanding and altering a live system.
  • IDE focused on productivity - The system is designed around fast, iterative development cycles.

Pharo is commonly used for creating custom business software, analytics and visualization tools, teaching programming concepts, financial platforms, system prototypes, and scientific simulations. The live nature makes it easy to build and demo ideas quickly.

Pharo Features

Features

  1. Live programming environment
  2. Pure object-oriented language
  3. Open source with MIT license
  4. Cross-platform - runs on Windows, macOS, Linux
  5. Smalltalk syntax and ecosystem
  6. Fast execution
  7. REPL and debugging tools
  8. Comes with many built-in libraries and frameworks

Pricing

  • Open Source
  • Free

Pros

Very fast and lightweight

Excellent for rapid prototyping

Live coding allows quick iteration

Strong community and ecosystem

Easy to learn for beginners

Very flexible and customizable

Cons

Less popular than other languages

Limited third-party libraries

Not suitable for all application domains

Steep learning curve for some concepts

Tooling not as rich as some alternatives


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