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From: jordan@cruzio.com (Jordan Bortz)
Subject: Re: Goodbye ParcPlace
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References: <5b6mc5$s6b@chronicle.concentric.net> <32e040ba.89373231@news.jumppoint.com> <E3yptv.M8@cruzio.com> <c0.9w.2DgtcZ$08K@craftedsmalltalk.com>
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Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 17:27:47 GMT
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>traymon9@craftedsmalltalk.com wrote:

>In <E3yptv.M8@cruzio.com>, jordan@cruzio.com (Jordan Bortz) writes:

>>PS The Smalltalk market already seems to be at deaths door to me --

>Well, here is someone else who has been taken in by the hype.

I dont consider myself to be taken in by hype -- it could be that
managers are being taken in by hype, but they are the ones that scope
out projects.  But as someone whos been doing this since 1987 and
someone who wrote the first Pro level gui builder for VisualWorks, I
can say, with Java, I've seen this all before. They are basically on a
neck with VW in terms of a "pseudo" gui architecture (very VW based)
with a poor event mechanism.

VW has a "pseudio" gui architecture with little (to no) event
mechanism, but at least it has a perform: statement so the resultant 
code is considerably cleaner (for now).

It would be hype, malaise, and myopia to think that what few
advantages Smalltalk has left (blocks and a perform statement) will
make it an odds out winner against an avalanche of competition.


>>I've seen a huge drop off in apparent activity, postings, contracts,
>>purchases, etc...  Anyone else seeing this or is it just me?

>That always happens at the 1st of the year.  People are just
>recovering from the holidays and getting back to school.

I'm not including this Post holiday dip in my calculations -- I'm
basing this from about 6/1/96, about the same time as their stock
crash.

I don't think we as a Smalltalk community should blind ourselves to
the fact that other languages and environments have been poaching
features from Smalltalk like Apple and Microsoft did to the whole Parc
GUI concept in general.  Noones buying Xerox Star's are they?

So unless the Smalltalk community starts to add some NEW REAL VALUE
to the pie, and catch up RAPIDLY with the Native Widgets, ODBC et al,
we may find ourselves...

Poached.

	Jordan

Jordan Bortz
President 
Object Productions Inc
Smalltalk Consulting


