From: avi@...4.com (Avi Bryant)
Date: 2002-06-27T02:34:17+09:00
Subject: Re: Andy Roonie meets Perl vs. Ruby... (I couldn't resist)

Niklas Frykholm <r2d2@acc.umu.se> wrote:
 
> I really _would_ like to program in Smalltalk and Common Lisp. They
> look like great languages and I would like to learn more about them.
> But I'm still looking for a CLOS or smalltalk environment that
> 
> 	* is free
> 	* is cross-platform
> 	* is easy to link to C code
> 	* has a reasonable supply of third party modules
> 
> There is Squeak of course. But that feels more like a toy than a
> production environment. I would be happy to be proven wrong.

I've been using Squeak in production for the last six months; for
server-side deployment, it's worked quite well.  For client
applications, I imagine you'd have issues with the non-standard look
and feel.  But don't be fooled by the emphasis on education and bright
colors, it's assuredly not a toy.

Depending on your definition of "free" (libre vs. gratis), and whether
"cross-platform" has to include the Mac OS, Smalltalk/X may also meet
your criteria just fine.

Avi