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 th
objectoriented
dynamically-typed
reflective
integrated-development-environment
incremental-code-development
Smalltalk: An Object-Oriented Language
Discover Smalltalk, an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language designed for incremental code development and testing with integrated features.
What is Smalltalk?
Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. It was created in the 1970s at Xerox PARC by a team led by Alan Kay. Smalltalk was designed to explore object-oriented programming and create a highly interactive programming environment. Its key characteristics include:
- Everything in Smalltalk is an object. All code execution happens by sending messages to objects.
- It is dynamically typed. Variable types are not declared or checked until code execution.
- It is reflective. Programs can examine and modify their own internal structure during execution.
- Live programming environment. Developers can change code while it is running and see the effects immediately without recompilation.
- Incremental code development. The environment allows code to be developed, tested, and debugged in very small increments.
- Image-based persistence. The complete program state (all objects) are saved to an image file for rapid start up and testing next time.
Smalltalk pioneered concepts like Just-In-Time compilation, the Model-View-Controller pattern, garbage collection, and graphical IDEs that influenced many later languages and software tools. While not in widespread use today, it continues to be used in some software systems that require high interactivity and reflection.
Smalltalk Features
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
Pricing
- Open Source
- Free
- Freemium
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
Official Links
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