If one is seeking to be a
serious software developer then the current size of the Squeak community is not an adequate foundation. The Smalltalk community seems to have given up on this larger vision but it may prove to be the most viable way to a vibrant future. Imagine a future where some descendant of Croquet islands is baked into
the fabric of everyday devices. That is my primary motivator for expanding the Squeak community base.
Laurence
On Jan 30, 2008 10:33 AM, Laurence Rozier <
[hidden email]> wrote:
On Jan 30, 2008 4:20 AM, Colin Putney <
[hidden email]> wrote:
On 29-Jan-08, at 9:48 PM, Laurence Rozier wrote:
> While I don't agree, I also don't see anything inherently wrong or
> bad about this view - to each his own. However, it isn't consistent
> with the original goals of Smalltalk nor the "programming for the
> rest of us" statement currently on the Squeak About page. I know
> there are others who don't want to see the community expand very
> much and if that is a consensus then the About page ought to be
> changed to reflect it. Although Smalltalk as an SDK is a stretch in
> my view, Croquet makes clear who its audience is - truth in
> advertising. If the Squeak community really doesn't want Squeak to
> be for "everyone" that ought to be clear up front.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that we make the community
into some kind of elitist club where outsiders aren't welcome. I
really like the way this community treats newcomers, and I wouldn't
want to change that. I'm a recent arrival myself!
What I *am* saying is that I don't think we should be trying to
achieve "popularity."
Agreed.
We should put our efforts into developing our
technology and empowering the community.
I agree - the question is what is needed to empower a community that includes "everyone"?
If that happens to attract
new members, great! If not, that's fine too. The community we have
today is large enough to be successful.
I suppose it depends on what the definition of "success" is. The constant and justified "million euros" comments are a clear reminder that there are unmed needs. In 2000, I had to hire a Smalltalker for an internet startup. I interviewed or had conversations a good number of very experienced folk all of whom really wanted to be making their living from Smalltalk. It was hard then and still is. Yes Seaside and Croquet are opening doors but do the math - that's not an abundance of positions even for the most talented Squeakers. Getting a Squeak based project funded inside a company(large or small) is also hard. As a result Smalltalk and Squeak will continue to survive well into the future, but most of the people attracted to it(along with their families, friends and co-workers) will not get to use it broadly. We'll continue to use software that just sucks or is a poor imitation which is sad because it doesn't have to be that way and
for a few short years it wasn't. There are ways out of the current mess, but people first have to acknowledge the mess and/or there has to be a significant wave of new adopters. Then the community has to be willing to make the difficult tradeoffs needed to climb out of the quicksand. In my view, survival is a necessary ingredient for success not the goal.
Laurence
Colin
Locked
