Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

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Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

laurent laffont
Hi,

I'm looking for feedback on Pharo integration in enterprise.

Especially how you have managed to put Pharo in your enterprise.

For example, I'm involved in web application development in other languages. For functional testing I'm able to script Selenium using Pharo thanks to WebTester. So Pharo has made a small step at my work.

I'm looking for such stories.

Cheers,

Laurent Laffont

Pharo Smalltalk Screencasts: http://www.pharocasts.com/
Blog: http://magaloma.blogspot.com/
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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

Mariano Martinez Peck


On Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 10:40 PM, laurent laffont <[hidden email]> wrote:
Hi,

I'm looking for feedback on Pharo integration in enterprise.

Especially how you have managed to put Pharo in your enterprise.

For example, I'm involved in web application development in other languages. For functional testing I'm able to script Selenium using Pharo thanks to WebTester. So Pharo has made a small step at my work.

Just show them the diff in time/money for the same development. (BTW, I don't have experience on that heheheh).
 

I'm looking for such stories.

Cheers,

Laurent Laffont

Pharo Smalltalk Screencasts: http://www.pharocasts.com/
Blog: http://magaloma.blogspot.com/

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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

csrabak
Em 26/11/2010 07:03, Mariano Martinez Peck < [hidden email] > escreveu:

> On   Thu,   Nov   25,    2010   at   10:40   PM,   laurent   laffont
> > <[hidden email]> wrote: Hi, I'm looking for feedback on
> >  Pharo integration in enterprise.  Especially how you have managed
> >  to put  Pharo in your  enterprise.  For example, I'm  involved in
> >  web application development in other
> > languages.  For functional  testing  I'm able  to script  Selenium
> > using Pharo thanks  to WebTester.  So Pharo has  made a small step
> > at my work.
>
>
>  Just   show   them   the   diff   in  time/money   for   the   same
> development. (BTW, I don't have experience on that heheheh).

Mariano, trust me, I have twenty years of experience on this, and have to
tell you: language or more generally the technology has a very small
impact in the result you're after to show as 'proof' of supremacy for
Pharo in the enterprise. . .

Processes, the skill level of the developers, the efficacy of management
are much more important.

I will stay away of more hard discussions which would involve the statistical
validation of the findings before one can trump any result as gun smoke.

Regards,

--
Cesar Rabak

 

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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

laurent laffont
Indeed I don't want a "how to integrate Pharo into enterprise", I want a "actually I have introduce Pharo in my enterprise and why; what works and what doesn't".

Laurent.

On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 6:37 PM, <[hidden email]> wrote:
Em 26/11/2010 07:03, Mariano Martinez Peck < [hidden email] > escreveu:

> On   Thu,   Nov   25,    2010   at   10:40   PM,   laurent   laffont
> > <[hidden email]> wrote: Hi, I'm looking for feedback on
> >  Pharo integration in enterprise.  Especially how you have managed
> >  to put  Pharo in your  enterprise.  For example, I'm  involved in
> >  web application development in other
> > languages.  For functional  testing  I'm able  to script  Selenium
> > using Pharo thanks  to WebTester.  So Pharo has  made a small step
> > at my work.
>
>
>  Just   show   them   the   diff   in  time/money   for   the   same
> development. (BTW, I don't have experience on that heheheh).

Mariano, trust me, I have twenty years of experience on this, and have to
tell you: language or more generally the technology has a very small
impact in the result you're after to show as 'proof' of supremacy for
Pharo in the enterprise. . .

Processes, the skill level of the developers, the efficacy of management
are much more important.

I will stay away of more hard discussions which would involve the statistical
validation of the findings before one can trump any result as gun smoke.

Regards,

--
Cesar Rabak




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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

Jimmie Houchin-5
In reply to this post by laurent laffont
On 11/25/2010 3:40 PM, laurent laffont wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'm looking for feedback on Pharo integration in enterprise.
>
> Especially how you have managed to put Pharo in your enterprise.
>
> For example, I'm involved in web application development in other
> languages. For functional testing I'm able to script Selenium using
> Pharo thanks to WebTester. So Pharo has made a small step at my work.
>
> I'm looking for such stories.

Hello,

I don't have any such stories. I am using Pharo personally and for
business, but I own the business I use it for. :)

I think an effective way to evangelize Pharo/Squeak/Smalltalk is to when
anybody has the liberty to do so, use it in the small areas where the
business has a need and no dependencies or any particular bureaucratic
requirements. Encourage coworkers to try it for personal projects,
invite them to local user groups. Even if it is simply to explore
something different and unknown. Find out some of their interests and
where possible and reasonable demonstrate a Pharo solution for their
interests.

I think the more people we can get to choose Pharo/Squeak/Smalltalk for
personal interests, the more people will begin to use it for the jobs at
work that they have the liberty to choose. Over time this could lead to
understanding of the benefits that Pharo/Squeak/Smalltalk can bring to
the enterprise environment or to the developers life in general. If they
use it at home, they may also help to improve our enterprise story so
that they can make a living using their tool of choice.

In the meantime we can improve our enterprise story. And I think we are
working on that. Working both ends toward the middle seems to be the way
to proceed to me.

Just a few thoughts.

Jimmie

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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

Tudor Girba
In reply to this post by laurent laffont
Hi,

I recently introduced Pharo in a small-medium software company (parametrix.ch). They use it for Moose (moosetechnology.org) to analyze their systems written in various languages and to introduce an assessment approach in their day to day development process (humane-assessment.com). A number of them are now learning to program in Pharo and Moose.

Cheers,
Doru


On 26 Nov 2010, at 22:07, laurent laffont wrote:

> Indeed I don't want a "how to integrate Pharo into enterprise", I want a "actually I have introduce Pharo in my enterprise and why; what works and what doesn't".
>
> Laurent.
>
> On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 6:37 PM, <[hidden email]> wrote:
> Em 26/11/2010 07:03, Mariano Martinez Peck < [hidden email] > escreveu:
>
> > On   Thu,   Nov   25,    2010   at   10:40   PM,   laurent   laffont
> > > <[hidden email]> wrote: Hi, I'm looking for feedback on
> > >  Pharo integration in enterprise.  Especially how you have managed
> > >  to put  Pharo in your  enterprise.  For example, I'm  involved in
> > >  web application development in other
> > > languages.  For functional  testing  I'm able  to script  Selenium
> > > using Pharo thanks  to WebTester.  So Pharo has  made a small step
> > > at my work.
> >
> >
> >  Just   show   them   the   diff   in  time/money   for   the   same
> > development. (BTW, I don't have experience on that heheheh).
>
> Mariano, trust me, I have twenty years of experience on this, and have to
> tell you: language or more generally the technology has a very small
> impact in the result you're after to show as 'proof' of supremacy for
> Pharo in the enterprise. . .
>
> Processes, the skill level of the developers, the efficacy of management
> are much more important.
>
> I will stay away of more hard discussions which would involve the statistical
> validation of the findings before one can trump any result as gun smoke.
>
> Regards,
>
> --
> Cesar Rabak
>
>
>
>

--
www.tudorgirba.com

"If you interrupt the barber while he is cutting your hair,
you will end up with a messy haircut."


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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

garduino
Hi:

My own experience as a small software company is that most of my
customers don't ask for a specific technology, only are searching some
sort of business solutions ( but almost the 95% of my customers are
small companies also, without internal developers or with no more than
2 or 3).

In this context, selling business solutions more than talk about the
technology behind, I have no problems in introduce
Pharo/Squeak/Dolphin applications.

Cheers.


2010/11/27 Tudor Girba <[hidden email]>:

> Hi,
>
> I recently introduced Pharo in a small-medium software company (parametrix.ch). They use it for Moose (moosetechnology.org) to analyze their systems written in various languages and to introduce an assessment approach in their day to day development process (humane-assessment.com). A number of them are now learning to program in Pharo and Moose.
>
> Cheers,
> Doru
>
>
> On 26 Nov 2010, at 22:07, laurent laffont wrote:
>
>> Indeed I don't want a "how to integrate Pharo into enterprise", I want a "actually I have introduce Pharo in my enterprise and why; what works and what doesn't".
>>
>> Laurent.
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 6:37 PM, <[hidden email]> wrote:
>> Em 26/11/2010 07:03, Mariano Martinez Peck < [hidden email] > escreveu:
>>
>> > On   Thu,   Nov   25,    2010   at   10:40   PM,   laurent   laffont
>> > > <[hidden email]> wrote: Hi, I'm looking for feedback on
>> > >  Pharo integration in enterprise.  Especially how you have managed
>> > >  to put  Pharo in your  enterprise.  For example, I'm  involved in
>> > >  web application development in other
>> > > languages.  For functional  testing  I'm able  to script  Selenium
>> > > using Pharo thanks  to WebTester.  So Pharo has  made a small step
>> > > at my work.
>> >
>> >
>> >  Just   show   them   the   diff   in  time/money   for   the   same
>> > development. (BTW, I don't have experience on that heheheh).
>>
>> Mariano, trust me, I have twenty years of experience on this, and have to
>> tell you: language or more generally the technology has a very small
>> impact in the result you're after to show as 'proof' of supremacy for
>> Pharo in the enterprise. . .
>>
>> Processes, the skill level of the developers, the efficacy of management
>> are much more important.
>>
>> I will stay away of more hard discussions which would involve the statistical
>> validation of the findings before one can trump any result as gun smoke.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> --
>> Cesar Rabak
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> www.tudorgirba.com
>
> "If you interrupt the barber while he is cutting your hair,
> you will end up with a messy haircut."
>
>
>

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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

csrabak
In reply to this post by Tudor Girba
Tudor,

This kind of report shows that Moose is a useful piece of software.  The interest in
Pharo became contingent on the Moose technology such as ABAP is 'widespread' in the
industry because of SAP ERP.

I think it says a lot about Moose, but is not enough to be a sales argument for Pharo.

This leads to a common fallacy used in marketing: use "X" as all successful people use "X" as well..."

--
Cesar Rabak
 

Em 27/11/2010 07:23, Tudor Girba < [hidden email] > escreveu:
Hi,

I recently introduced Pharo in a small-medium software company (parametrix.ch). They use it for Moose (moosetechnology.org) to analyze their systems written in various languages and to introduce an assessment approach in their day to day development process (humane-assessment.com). A number of them are now learning to program in Pharo and Moose.

Cheers,
Doru


On 26 Nov 2010, at 22:07, laurent laffont wrote:

> Indeed I don't want a "how to integrate Pharo into enterprise", I want a "actually I have introduce Pharo in my enterprise and why; what works and what doesn't".
>
> Laurent.
>


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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

csrabak
In reply to this post by garduino
Yes. this makes another side of the equation: for 95% of clients technology
is not pertinent while it does become impediment to the achievement of
some part of the project.

But, IIRC the idea was to gather info to convince people who have to or want
to select some technology.

--
Cesar Rabak


Em 27/11/2010 13:24, Germán Arduino < [hidden email] > escreveu:
Hi:

My own experience as a small software company is that most of my
customers don't ask for a specific technology, only are searching some
sort of business solutions ( but almost the 95% of my customers are
small companies also, without internal developers or with no more than
2 or 3).

In this context, selling business solutions more than talk about the
technology behind, I have no problems in introduce
Pharo/Squeak/Dolphin applications.

Cheers.


2010/11/27 Tudor Girba :

> Hi,
>
> I recently introduced Pharo in a small-medium software company (parametrix.ch). They use it for Moose (moosetechnology.org) to analyze their systems written in various languages and to introduce an assessment approach in their day to day development process (humane-assessment.com). A number of them are now learning to program in Pharo and Moose.
>
> Cheers,
> Doru
>
>
> On 26 Nov 2010, at 22:07, laurent laffont wrote:
>
>> Indeed I don't want a "how to integrate Pharo into enterprise", I want a "actually I have introduce Pharo in my enterprise and why; what works and what doesn't".
>>
>> Laurent.
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 6:37 PM,  wrote:
>> Em 26/11/2010 07:03, Mariano Martinez Peck < [hidden email] > escreveu:
>>
>> > On   Thu,   Nov   25,    2010   at   10:40   PM,   laurent   laffont
>> > >  wrote: Hi, I'm looking for feedback on
>> > >  Pharo integration in enterprise.  Especially how you have managed
>> > >  to put  Pharo in your  enterprise.  For example, I'm  involved in
>> > >  web application development in other
>> > > languages.  For functional  testing  I'm able  to script  Selenium
>> > > using Pharo thanks  to WebTester.  So Pharo has  made a small step
>> > > at my work.
>> >
>> >
>> >  Just   show   them   the   diff   in  time/money   for   the   same
>> > development. (BTW, I don't have experience on that heheheh).
>>
>> Mariano, trust me, I have twenty years of experience on this, and have to
>> tell you: language or more generally the technology has a very small
>> impact in the result you're after to show as 'proof' of supremacy for
>> Pharo in the enterprise. . .
>>
>> Processes, the skill level of the developers, the efficacy of management
>> are much more important.
>>
>> I will stay away of more hard discussions which would involve the statistical
>> validation of the findings before one can trump any result as gun smoke.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> --
>> Cesar Rabak
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> www.tudorgirba.com
>
> "If you interrupt the barber while he is cutting your hair,
> you will end up with a messy haircut."
>
>
>



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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

Tudor Girba
In reply to this post by csrabak
Hi,

I think I understand your point of view, but I do not agree with it :).

Moose is a valuable platform exactly because it is built in Smalltalk. Developers understand the power of Smalltalk in the context of Moose quite quickly after they do a couple of tutorials. The result is that they end up wanting to learn Smalltalk.

In fact, I argued for quite a while that vendors should use Moose to promote Smalltalk. The cool thing about it is that it addresses directly programmers that develop in all sorts of languages (especially Java). This gives us a nice back door.

Cheers,
Doru


On 28 Nov 2010, at 18:48, [hidden email] wrote:

> Tudor,
>
> This kind of report shows that Moose is a useful piece of software.  The interest in
> Pharo became contingent on the Moose technology such as ABAP is 'widespread' in the
> industry because of SAP ERP.
>
> I think it says a lot about Moose, but is not enough to be a sales argument for Pharo.
>
> This leads to a common fallacy used in marketing: use "X" as all successful people use "X" as well..."
>
> --
> Cesar Rabak
>
>
> Em 27/11/2010 07:23, Tudor Girba < [hidden email] > escreveu:
> Hi,
>
> I recently introduced Pharo in a small-medium software company (parametrix.ch). They use it for Moose (moosetechnology.org) to analyze their systems written in various languages and to introduce an assessment approach in their day to day development process (humane-assessment.com). A number of them are now learning to program in Pharo and Moose.
>
> Cheers,
> Doru
>
>
> On 26 Nov 2010, at 22:07, laurent laffont wrote:
>
>> Indeed I don't want a "how to integrate Pharo into enterprise", I want a "actually I have introduce Pharo in my enterprise and why; what works and what doesn't".
>>
>> Laurent.
>>
>
>

--
www.tudorgirba.com

"Next time you see your life passing by, say 'hi' and get to know her."




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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

csrabak
Em 01/12/2010 18:50, Tudor Girba <[hidden email]> escreveu:

> Hi,
>  I think I understand your point of view, but I do not agree with it
> :).

Fair enough!  During a debate automatic agreement would not lead to an
enriched vision of the problem and more often than not would diverge
from the truth :-)

>  Moose  is  a valuable  platform  exactly  because  it is  built  in
> Smalltalk.  

I understand this is the sentiment about Smalltalk.  Also, giving the
project is 13+ years old makes me assume it has started in a different
dialect of Smalltalk than Pharo.
 
> Developers  understand the  power  of  Smalltalk in  the
> context  of  Moose   quite  quickly  after  they  do   a  couple  of
> tutorials.  

The key here, I think, is "in the context of Moose".  In my opinion the
litmus test for this would be evaluating how many projects _not_ related
to Moose are started in Smalltalk after this exposition occurred.

> The  result  is  that  they  end  up  wanting  to  learn
> Smalltalk.

Which per se is an interesting achievement.  However, we need it go
beyond the wanting to learn to the opportunity to be the implementation
language of some new projects in their realms.

>  In fact, I  argued for quite a while that  vendors should use Moose
> to promote Smalltalk.  The cool thing about it  is that it addresses
> directly  programmers  that  develop   in  all  sorts  of  languages
> (especially Java). This gives us a nice back door.

I think again this is a variation of theme I mentioned in the earlier
post.  The same has been said about Seaside, or other projects which I
perceive as successful as Moose (and written in Smalltalk, of course)!

I'm afraid we're missing something essential on this: what problem Pharo
(or more generally Smalltalk) addresses better in the enterprise than
other technologies?

If we arrive at some compelling answers to this, then I believe it would
be easy to 'sell' Smalltalk.  The examples on the successful projects
then would serve to reduce the perceived risk of embarking in an imature
technology.

my 0.019999...

Regards,

--
Cesar Rabak


>  Cheers, Doru
>
>  On 28 Nov 2010, at 18:48, [hidden email] wrote:
>
> > Tudor,
> > This  kind  of  report shows  that  Moose  is  a useful  piece  of
> > software.  The interest in  Pharo became  contingent on  the Moose
> > technology such as ABAP is 'widespread' in the industry because of
> > SAP ERP.
> > I think it says a lot about Moose, but is not enough to be a sales
> > argument for Pharo.
> > This leads to  a common fallacy used in marketing:  use "X" as all
> > successful people use "X" as well..."
> >

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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

Dale Henrichs
On 12/01/2010 06:49 PM, [hidden email] wrote:
> I'm afraid we're missing something essential on this: what problem Pharo
> (or more generally Smalltalk) addresses better in the enterprise than
> other technologies?

Cesar,

Part of the answer to this question should come from a look at the
existing enterprise customers that are basing their business on Smalltalk.

The Smalltalk success stories (at the enterprise level) come from
solving problems that are very difficult to solve in the first place.
Looking at some of GemStone's customers there are two common
characteristics:

   - large complex problems
   - problems whose domain is rapidly changing

The large problems have to be broken down into pieces that are small
enough for a small team of people to attack effectively and the work of
these small teams has to be integrated to address the larger problem.
This plays into the strength of Smalltalk in that Smalltalk code (and
developers) can thrive in an environment where the code base is
inconsistent/fluid ...

For problems whose domain is rapidly changing it is a requirement that
the _architecture_ of the system be able to migrate over time. As
business rules change the architecture of the system has to evolve.
Again the requirement of having a malleable code base where
functionality can migrate and the architecture can evolve play into the
strengths of Smalltalk...

My $0.02...

Dale

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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

Tudor Girba
In reply to this post by csrabak
Hi,

I believe Smalltalk is perceived in the following way:
1. Smalltalk is cool: 0.01%
2. What is Smalltalk?: 19,99%
3. Smalltalk is dead: 80%

It is hard to convince the 2nd category to look at something new. Why should they? But, if it's hard to convince someone of something new, you need a miracle to convince someone that something is not dead. But, I think that a miracle like this can be administrated in the form of cool and kicking creatures and then tell them that they kick because of Smalltalk :)

Cheers,
Doru


On 2 Dec 2010, at 03:49, [hidden email] wrote:

> Em 01/12/2010 18:50, Tudor Girba <[hidden email]> escreveu:
>
>> Hi,
>> I think I understand your point of view, but I do not agree with it
>> :).
>
> Fair enough!  During a debate automatic agreement would not lead to an
> enriched vision of the problem and more often than not would diverge
> from the truth :-)
>
>> Moose  is  a valuable  platform  exactly  because  it is  built  in
>> Smalltalk.  
>
> I understand this is the sentiment about Smalltalk.  Also, giving the
> project is 13+ years old makes me assume it has started in a different
> dialect of Smalltalk than Pharo.
>
>> Developers  understand the  power  of  Smalltalk in  the
>> context  of  Moose   quite  quickly  after  they  do   a  couple  of
>> tutorials.  
>
> The key here, I think, is "in the context of Moose".  In my opinion the
> litmus test for this would be evaluating how many projects _not_ related
> to Moose are started in Smalltalk after this exposition occurred.
>
>> The  result  is  that  they  end  up  wanting  to  learn
>> Smalltalk.
>
> Which per se is an interesting achievement.  However, we need it go
> beyond the wanting to learn to the opportunity to be the implementation
> language of some new projects in their realms.
>
>> In fact, I  argued for quite a while that  vendors should use Moose
>> to promote Smalltalk.  The cool thing about it  is that it addresses
>> directly  programmers  that  develop   in  all  sorts  of  languages
>> (especially Java). This gives us a nice back door.
>
> I think again this is a variation of theme I mentioned in the earlier
> post.  The same has been said about Seaside, or other projects which I
> perceive as successful as Moose (and written in Smalltalk, of course)!
>
> I'm afraid we're missing something essential on this: what problem Pharo
> (or more generally Smalltalk) addresses better in the enterprise than
> other technologies?
>
> If we arrive at some compelling answers to this, then I believe it would
> be easy to 'sell' Smalltalk.  The examples on the successful projects
> then would serve to reduce the perceived risk of embarking in an imature
> technology.
>
> my 0.019999...
>
> Regards,
>
> --
> Cesar Rabak
>
>
>> Cheers, Doru
>>
>> On 28 Nov 2010, at 18:48, [hidden email] wrote:
>>
>>> Tudor,
>>> This  kind  of  report shows  that  Moose  is  a useful  piece  of
>>> software.  The interest in  Pharo became  contingent on  the Moose
>>> technology such as ABAP is 'widespread' in the industry because of
>>> SAP ERP.
>>> I think it says a lot about Moose, but is not enough to be a sales
>>> argument for Pharo.
>>> This leads to  a common fallacy used in marketing:  use "X" as all
>>> successful people use "X" as well..."
>>>
>

--
www.tudorgirba.com

"Reasonable is what we are accustomed with."


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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

csrabak
Em 06/12/2010 18:21, Tudor Girba < [hidden email] > escreveu:

> Hi,
>  I believe Smalltalk is perceived in the following way:
> 1. Smalltalk is cool: 0.01%
> 2. What is Smalltalk?: 19,99%
> 3. Smalltalk is dead: 80%

I think your assessment is not that far from reality... :-(

> It  is hard  to  convince the  2nd  category to  look at  something
> new.  Why should  they? But,  if it's  hard to  convince  someone of
> something new, you need a miracle to convince someone that something
> is  not  dead.  But,  I  think  that a  miracle  like  this  can  be
> administrated in  the form  of cool and  kicking creatures  and then
> tell them that they kick because of Smalltalk :)

I agree on the feeling, I only think we all miss a very important
tactical point here: in what realm is Smalltalk superior to other
technologies?  While we cannot answer this without hesitation and
without half escuses on why this 'superiority' don't show itself,
we're stuck to feelings and trying to present cherry picked 'examples'
of the qualities of our pet language/technology.

The issue some cool and kicking creatures could have been done is not
enough, we need also to be certain we can get newcomers and have them
quickly up to speed in doing so. _That_ has lead other ('younger')
languages to their present status.

--
Cesar Rabak

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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

Guillermo Polito
Do we have marketing people?  We need someone selling smalltalk to business people. :P

In most cases (at least here in Argentina), the technology is decided by non technical people (like managers or customers) because they heard something called java and someone recommended it to them...

Sad.

On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 10:43 PM, <[hidden email]> wrote:
Em 06/12/2010 18:21, Tudor Girba < [hidden email] > escreveu:

> Hi,
>  I believe Smalltalk is perceived in the following way:
> 1. Smalltalk is cool: 0.01%
> 2. What is Smalltalk?: 19,99%
> 3. Smalltalk is dead: 80%

I think your assessment is not that far from reality... :-(

> It  is hard  to  convince the  2nd  category to  look at  something
> new.  Why should  they? But,  if it's  hard to  convince  someone of
> something new, you need a miracle to convince someone that something
> is  not  dead.  But,  I  think  that a  miracle  like  this  can  be
> administrated in  the form  of cool and  kicking creatures  and then
> tell them that they kick because of Smalltalk :)

I agree on the feeling, I only think we all miss a very important
tactical point here: in what realm is Smalltalk superior to other
technologies?  While we cannot answer this without hesitation and
without half escuses on why this 'superiority' don't show itself,
we're stuck to feelings and trying to present cherry picked 'examples'
of the qualities of our pet language/technology.

The issue some cool and kicking creatures could have been done is not
enough, we need also to be certain we can get newcomers and have them
quickly up to speed in doing so. _That_ has lead other ('younger')
languages to their present status.

--
Cesar Rabak


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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

hernanmd
In reply to this post by Tudor Girba
Tudor,

You cannot convince someone which have already choosen an option.
Cheers

2010/12/6 Tudor Girba <[hidden email]>:

> Hi,
>
> I believe Smalltalk is perceived in the following way:
> 1. Smalltalk is cool: 0.01%
> 2. What is Smalltalk?: 19,99%
> 3. Smalltalk is dead: 80%
>
> It is hard to convince the 2nd category to look at something new. Why should they? But, if it's hard to convince someone of something new, you need a miracle to convince someone that something is not dead. But, I think that a miracle like this can be administrated in the form of cool and kicking creatures and then tell them that they kick because of Smalltalk :)
>
> Cheers,
> Doru
>

--
Hernán Morales
Information Technology Manager,
Institute of Veterinary Genetics.
National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET).
La Plata (1900), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Telephone: +54 (0221) 421-1799.
Internal: 422
Fax: 425-7980 or 421-1799.

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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

laurent laffont
In reply to this post by csrabak

I agree on the feeling, I only think we all miss a very important
tactical point here: in what realm is Smalltalk superior to other
technologies?  



Fun :)

Laurent 




 

The issue some cool and kicking creatures could have been done is not
enough, we need also to be certain we can get newcomers and have them
quickly up to speed in doing so. _That_ has lead other ('younger')
languages to their present status.

--
Cesar Rabak


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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

Dale Henrichs
Okay ... I've got another little rant...

Smalltalk improves developer productivity ... pure and simple ... the reason that developing in Smalltalk is fun is that there is very little that gets in between the developer and the solution of a problem ... the debugger, inspector and all of the tools mean that a developer can focus on the problem at hand ... the dynamic nature of Smalltalk means that I can add instance variables and change interfaces without having to fight the compiler or the tools ... or lose track of what I am doing ....

With that said (here comes the rant:) ... the _enterprise_ is not necessarily interested in developer productivity...productive developers is way down the list for the enterprise ... just look at the waste (not just in software) in a typical corporation ... (end of rant) ...

Smaller companies (not at the enterprise level) _are_ interested in developer productivity, so that should be the sweet spot for Smalltalk and there is work to be done to make Smalltalk more attractive to those Smaller companies and it seems that Pharo is headed in the right direction to become more attractive ... Note that many development groups within the enterprise operate like smaller companies, it's just that a CTO of a Fortune 500 company isn't going to wholesale switch his company from using Java to using Smalltalk (at least not this year:)...

Oh and GemStone also has enterprise customers who don't necessarily advertise their Smalltalk success stories.

Dale

On Dec 6, 2010, at 11:00 PM, laurent laffont wrote:


I agree on the feeling, I only think we all miss a very important
tactical point here: in what realm is Smalltalk superior to other
technologies?



Fun :)

Laurent






The issue some cool and kicking creatures could have been done is not
enough, we need also to be certain we can get newcomers and have them
quickly up to speed in doing so. _That_ has lead other ('younger')
languages to their present status.

--
Cesar Rabak




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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

Diogenes Moreira
In reply to this post by Guillermo Polito
Well sow sow,
Very offen, then choice makers, looking for, "security" (talking about
people, policy and technology)
. "I'm select java because PWC recommend  it for this
solution'".."Cover your ass" Puaj..Puaj
In the second place the choice makers select the technologies,
defending he's budget. Not select the cheaper o better solutios..
Fight for manteing or increse, the IT budget.. "More budget..More
power.. Say the CIOs (Common Idiot Officer) .
Other fact,  (at least in Argentine)the CIO don't have real weight in
the organization and denpends of Operation or Financials. I don't know
where come from the stupid idea that the IT area can be manage for a
non-tech people.. I can guess from Accountants..or Lawyers :).
In 3th place, the choice makers looking for fame. nobody was selected
as InfomationWeek's CIO of Year for select Smaltalk as Core
Technology. (The mainstream software houses are sponsor of this cain
of publications).
In last place the choice makers select the technologies for it's
capabilities and "state of art" that he has in your organization.
Actually the average programmers don't know the true OOP.

I think, Pharo goes in good way..but the finishline is a far far a way.

We must continue teaching in the universities..and why not.. The
companies.. For free.... Only for introduce the technollogy in the
market

We must support projects such Seaside, Reef, Glorp, SqueakDBX or Mars
(and it's futures version for linux and windows). This cain of
projects are the bridge from the mainstream world to smalltalk..
Rigth now, in the mind of traditonal choice maker, a solution without
a relational DB(Oracle or something like that) is only "a beatyfull
toy".  are year a mean. Traditional pieces of software give
"Security".

We must make deal's with the traditional software companies.. And
don't be scare for sign a contract where the project have webservices
and java, php or .net front-end. although the solution is not
needed‬.(Obviously if you don't will be the architect :) )

We need make the peace with commercial people and the technology publications..

At last and over all, when any one from this group, have the chance,
one chance, to have a CIO position, take it, and make the difference.
This one, please don't think as traditional CIO, think different.

Sorry for the large mail and my english

Best.

2010/12/7, Guillermo Polito <[hidden email]>:

> Do we have marketing people?  We need someone selling smalltalk to business
> people. :P
>
> In most cases (at least here in Argentina), the technology is decided by non
> technical people (like managers or customers) because they heard something
> called java and someone recommended it to them...
>
> Sad.
>
> On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 10:43 PM, <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> Em 06/12/2010 18:21, Tudor Girba < [hidden email] > escreveu:
>>
>> > Hi,
>> >  I believe Smalltalk is perceived in the following way:
>> > 1. Smalltalk is cool: 0.01%
>> > 2. What is Smalltalk?: 19,99%
>> > 3. Smalltalk is dead: 80%
>>
>> I think your assessment is not that far from reality... :-(
>>
>> > It  is hard  to  convince the  2nd  category to  look at  something
>> > new.  Why should  they? But,  if it's  hard to  convince  someone of
>> > something new, you need a miracle to convince someone that something
>> > is  not  dead.  But,  I  think  that a  miracle  like  this  can  be
>> > administrated in  the form  of cool and  kicking creatures  and then
>> > tell them that they kick because of Smalltalk :)
>>
>> I agree on the feeling, I only think we all miss a very important
>> tactical point here: in what realm is Smalltalk superior to other
>> technologies?  While we cannot answer this without hesitation and
>> without half escuses on why this 'superiority' don't show itself,
>> we're stuck to feelings and trying to present cherry picked 'examples'
>> of the qualities of our pet language/technology.
>>
>> The issue some cool and kicking creatures could have been done is not
>> enough, we need also to be certain we can get newcomers and have them
>> quickly up to speed in doing so. _That_ has lead other ('younger')
>> languages to their present status.
>>
>> --
>> Cesar Rabak
>>
>>
>

--
Enviado desde mi dispositivo móvil

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Re: Pharo integration in enterprise feedback

garduino
In reply to this post by Dale Henrichs
2010/12/7 Dale Henrichs <[hidden email]>:
> Okay ... I've got another little rant...
>
> Smalltalk improves developer productivity ... pure and simple ... the reason that developing in Smalltalk is fun is that there is very little that gets in between the developer and the solution of a problem ... the debugger, inspector and all of the tools mean that a developer can focus on the problem at hand ... the dynamic nature of Smalltalk means that I can add instance variables and change interfaces without having to fight the compiler or the tools ... or lose track of what I am doing ....
>

Full, full agree. This is the more important difference I think.


> With that said (here comes the rant:) ... the _enterprise_ is not necessarily interested in developer productivity...productive developers is way down the list for the enterprise ... just look at the waste (not just in software) in a typical corporation ... (end of rant) ...
>


Again agree. A typical corp have lots of programmers, most of time
without a real coordination and not really worried by productivity
(even when they say the opposite).


> Smaller companies (not at the enterprise level) _are_ interested in developer productivity, so that should be the sweet spot for Smalltalk and there is work to be done to make Smalltalk more attractive to those Smaller companies and it seems that Pharo is headed in the right direction to become more attractive ... Note that many development groups within the enterprise operate like smaller companies, it's just that a CTO of a Fortune 500 company isn't going to wholesale switch his company from using Java to using Smalltalk (at least not this year:)...
>

I talked about this thing on my talk in Smalltalks2010, commenting my
own experience as an independent software producer and here, in this
context, the productiviy is a key factor (At least 2-1 against any
language I know, in my own experience).

The other factor is related with the understanding of the systems,
even the complex ones, were small companies as mine need to understand
the whole system to be developed/sold to a customer

Disclaimer to César: I know I'm not talking about Enterprise (Big
companies) but still.


> Oh and GemStone also has enterprise customers who don't necessarily advertise their Smalltalk success stories.
>
> Dale
>
> On Dec 6, 2010, at 11:00 PM, laurent laffont wrote:
>
>
> I agree on the feeling, I only think we all miss a very important
> tactical point here: in what realm is Smalltalk superior to other
> technologies?
>
>
>
> Fun :)
>
> Laurent
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The issue some cool and kicking creatures could have been done is not
> enough, we need also to be certain we can get newcomers and have them
> quickly up to speed in doing so. _That_ has lead other ('younger')
> languages to their present status.
>
> --
> Cesar Rabak
>
>
>
>
>

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