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From: knight@acm.org (alan Knight)
Subject: Re: VRML conference: Java - What is Smalltalk Tomorrow?
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Reply-To: knight@acm.org (Alan Knight)
Organization: The Object People
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Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 22:51:33 GMT
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This is quite interesting stuff, but I'm not entirely clear on how you
are suggesting to apply it to PPD. Do you have some concrete
suggestions for how to implement this commitment to standards and
quality. It seems to me that this could be interpreted in a very wide
variety of ways, e.g.

- drop Smalltalk and start producing Java environments
- work with Sun to get the Java VM improved and capable of running
Smalltalk as quickly as possible
- make their own web products work well with Java (I think they
already do)
- try to get a Netscape/Java style deal for Smalltalk with some other
hot application. 
- generally work harder to get their bugs fixed and keep their
customers happy.

I'm not clear which if any of these you are specifically advocating,
and I'd be interested to know. I'm a firm proponent of the theory that
if you want a company to do something, you need as many customers as
possible pushing them in the same direction at the same time.

Also, a few minor quibbles with the points you raise, although
certainly nothing that invalidates your basic points. 

- The standards-orientation in VisualAge considerably predates IBM's
involvement with the product. It's been a feature of Envy/Smalltalk
for quite a long time. 

- In touting Sun as an example of how to succeed in this industry
using standards, don't forget that the company currently dominating
the industry has shown at best mild interest in standards they didn't
invent.

- Even Sun's attitudes towards standards and "best-of-breed"
technologies have typically been confined entirely to hardware (see
e.g. OpenWindows and NeWS).


-- 
 Alan Knight                | The Object People
 knight@acm.org             | Smalltalk and OO Training and Consulting
 alan@objectpeople.on.ca    | 509-885 Meadowlands Dr.
 +1 613 225 8812            | Ottawa, Canada, K2C 3N2

