Le 30 déc. 2014 00:23, "Sebastian Sastre" <sebast...@flowingconcept.com> a écrit : > > I’m a Smalltalker that is happy when JavaScript and LISP and Phyton and Ruby and Dart gain popularity because it makes my life easier when I have to explain to the next dynamic friendly developer how our workspace, inspector and debugger works and how our library gets navigated so the new guy can fell he can master it by himself easier than other tools (which is a Smalltalk language design intention from day zero, and totally successful at it BTW). > > I can understand that some might feel indifferent at Scala or Java popularity but being "a Pharoer” and hostile, antagonising or actively indifferent to Smalltalk's popularity and branding efforts is a frank strategic parricide
And so we entered the land of Zealots of True Faith (tm). PR is useful. But patronizing what is and what is not leaves me cold. Phil > > > > > >> On Dec 29, 2014, at 5:40 PM, horrido <horrido.hobb...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> From "The City on the Edge of Forever": >> >> KIRK: Then what is it? >> GUARDIAN: *A question.* Since before your sun burned hot in space and before >> your race was born, I have awaited a question. >> KIRK: What are you? >> GUARDIAN: I am the Guardian of Forever. >> KIRK: Are you machine or being? >> GUARDIAN: I am both and neither. I am my own beginning, my own ending. >> >> ----- >> >> Clearly, I need to explain myself in greater detail... >> >> The efforts of organizations such as STIC and ESUG are laudable. >> Nevertheless, they have failed to popularize Smalltalk. Today, *Smalltalk is >> a largely forgotten language*. This can be seen at the TIOBE index where >> Smalltalk has literally fallen off a cliff (it used to be on the top 100 >> list, but has since disappeared). At Redmonk and langpop.corger.nl, >> Smalltalk is somewhere around the 65th position! >> >> Smalltalk does not get much developer attention. It doesn't get talked about >> in the press like Dart and JavaScript and Java do. The language is almost >> never on the minds of CEOs and CTOs, the business decision makers. I believe >> I know why. >> >> Smalltalk organizations have focussed too much on /technical merit/, and not >> enough on PR and marketing. Understandable, since engineers are >> /technically-minded/ and not so much into human behaviour. I think we need >> to treat developers and businessmen like consumers. We need to sell >> Smalltalk to them in the same way we sell iPhones and PlayStations. In other >> words, we need to build /hype/. >> >> Let's face it: at the best of times, the subject of Smalltalk is rather >> staid. STIC and ESUG and the Smalltalk Foundation are not likely to change >> this. *I want Smalltalk Renaissance to change this.* >> >> The Smalltalk Renaissance Program is a highly focussed campaign. Like the >> language itself, I want to Keep It Simple. (That's why I'm trying to keep >> the website clean and free of excess baggage.) >> >> The SRP cannot succeed without /your/ involvement, your participation. I am >> not much more than the curator and editor for Smalltalk Renaissance, >> although I'm also formulating the short-term and long-term strategy. (You >> can call me "Generalissimo" Eng. ;-) ) >> >> One of the things I intend to do is ask members of the Smalltalk community >> to submit /fresh/ essays and articles on Smalltalk. I have a list of essay >> topics prepared, carefully chosen for their relevance and impact on the >> future of Smalltalk. I shall be asking people to pick a topic and run with >> it. If there are multiple submissions for a particular topic, I shall choose >> the best one, edit it, and post it on Smalltalk Renaissance. *I guarantee >> you will look good!* >> >> Make no mistake, this is a critical step. *These essays will address the >> concerns of non-Smalltalk developers.* You need to make compelling >> arguments. >> >> Then we promote these articles and essays on Reddit and Hacker News and so >> on. >> >> In the near future, I will also submit Smalltalk articles to the IT press, >> such as Wired and InfoWorld. These articles may well benefit from /your >> contributions/. >> >> Another important piece of the strategy is to obtain corporate sponsorship. >> If not for Apple, the Swift language would never have gotten so much >> mindshare. If not for Google, Go would've failed to gain a significant >> following. If not for Microsoft, C# would've been forgotten. In today's >> highly competitive programming language field, if you don't have a big name >> backer, you're already behind the eight ball. Grass roots are unlikely to >> succeed. >> >> Getting the imprimatur of a major technology company is a PR coup of >> inestimable value. But it's also vital for another reason. In the longer >> term, I want to launch software projects that improve on the Smalltalk >> technology. Projects such as extending the tooling around the Smalltalk >> environment (which has been criticized for not playing well with existing >> file-based tooling). Projects such as improving interoperability with >> existing (Windows-based) infrastructures in the enterprise (which has been a >> source of criticism from the likes of Robert Martin). These projects must be >> financed because open source volunteerism isn't enough, not by a long shot. >> And this is why we need corporate sponsorship. >> >> Before I make a pitch to a CEO, Smalltalk Renaissance must achieve some >> degree of legitimacy. It can do this by signing up well-known names from the >> Smalltalk community. Names such as the late James Robertson or Stéphane >> Ducasse. I already have a draft letter prepared for an important CEO. I'm >> only waiting for a list of SRP signatories before firing off the letter. >> (Hint, hint.) >> >> This is what I've come up with so far in my strategic planning. It's a >> work-in-progress. >> >> As for Pharo, I've downloaded it and played with it briefly. As far as I can >> tell, the IDE is not much different from Squeak. Like I said, the design has >> been tweaked and improved, but I don't see anything groundbreaking. Maybe >> you and I have different ideas of what "groundbreaking" means. >> >> Nevertheless, as another poster indicated, we can leave this for the future. >> For the time being, we need to make Smalltalk, and Pharo in particular, more >> attractive to the Enterprise. I'm sure Pharo is doing this. Kudos. >> >> >> >> >> -- >> View this message in context: http://forum.world.st/The-Smalltalk-Renaissance-Program-tp4797112p4797313.html >> Sent from the Pharo Smalltalk Developers mailing list archive at Nabble.com. >> >
