About the "How to learn Morphic ?" point, there is a cool PharoCast that shows basis http://www.pharocasts.com/2011/02/pharo-gui-with-polymorph.html.
About my own experience, I have learnt a bit by myself (RecentMessageList, Finder) and then I have pair programmed with Alain during last ESUG and learnt a lot :) There is some stuff you can't guess because they are strange and a bit disturbing (who said "layout" ? ^^), but then you can put some halt almost everywhere (let me give you an advice, first create a subclass, then put a halt ^^). But as said there is a lack of documentation, and I think than more pharocast could be a good way to change this. And since we are cleaning the system, I guess Morphic will come more and more understandable (I hope) ;) I wish you good luck and I you have question do no hesitate :) Ben On Mar 25, 2011, at 9:06 AM, Stéphane Ducasse wrote: > Hi Daniel > >> I have two questions, a technical one and a more general one. >> >> In broad strokes, what are people doing for GUIs? My guess would be using >> Morphic, but googling around you find more abuse than use, it looks like, >> and very little live links to up-to-date documentation. It makes me wonder: >> is there something other than Morphic which is being used? Or is everyone >> doing web apps? Or is there some other GUI toolkit I haven't found yet, and >> that's where all the action is? Whenever I see a neat Morphic window or >> something, I feel a bit like there's a party going on somewhere and I didn't >> get an invitation. Like the first rule of Morphic club is you don't talk >> about Morphic club. > > Not really truth. :) Now we are cleaning the system and trying to make sure > that we understand it. > However it does not prevent you to learn. Look at Benjamin: (a smart second > year students), he built Finder and now he is building > Nautilus. Start by looking at some examples and ask for feedback. People will > help you. > Now this is clear that the documentation is not at the level it should be. > >> The general question I have is basically, am I the problem? > > No > >> Is it that the documentation isn't where I expect to find it, or in the form >> I'm used to seeing, or that it isn't relevant somehow in the Smalltalk >> universe? > > If you can VisualWorks there is a lot of documentation. > Now they have engineers too. > >> Or is it all really intuitive except for me? :) > > No I'm often puzzled too. The point is that I learn everyday more about the > system and when I do not like the way it is done > I try to fix it. My main goal is to learn every day. Sometimes this is > frustrating but in general it works. > >> I could accept that, I suppose, but how did you Smalltalk wizards become >> wizards? > > I do not know. But probably starting to read > - mailing-list > - read the code > - break it by putting the wrong self halt at the wrong place > The cool aspect of Pharo is that it is really improving day after day. > And that when there is something ugly you can be sure that one of these days > we will fix it. Now we should go step by step. > > >> Did you just dive in and start reading the code in your own image? > > Yes. > When I started been an harvester for Squeak, here is what I did. > read the bug report (there was none so it was easy) > read the submitted code and if I do not understand pass to the next one > until I find something that I can understand > I still do that everyday. My goal is to have read a lot of the code. > >> Was there some master Smalltalk wizard that you knew who showed you how to >> do these things? > > I learned smalltalk alone. > Now if you can pair program with somebody this is much cooler. > You have pharoCasts, have a look at them. > >> I'm currently reading Smalltalk Best Practice Patterns > Excellent book > >> and it's one of the best programming books I've ever read. I see that there >> is a great deal of mastery of programming going around in Smalltalk circles, >> but I don't see the books that take you past beginner towards master, > > You have smalltalk by example (even if it is for VW I like it). It is more > about design than Pharo by example and I would like to have one like that in > the future but too busy right now. > >> other than SBPP. So what's the trick going on here? How did you guys become >> excellent? >> >> I hope none of this comes across as negative; > > Not at all. We know our problems > >> I think surely it's that I'm missing something. >> >> Thanks, >> >> — >> Daniel Lyons >> >> > >
