Squeak
Open-source Smalltalk implementation with a live, image-based programming environment.
HN commenters like Squeak for its live Smalltalk environment where programs are built iteratively from inside the running system12, for an image-based workflow that made deploying a Seaside web project easy3, and for broad GUI and platform support.4 Caveats raised include heavy RAM use5 and weaker high-resolution display support, which led one commenter to move to Pharo.6
Why people recommend it
Live environment · 3
Commenters value building and changing programs from inside the running system, which one called a novel development experience.
“to this day it stands out as a novel software development experience that I'm very glad I did.”
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“I think I used Squeak with the Seaside framework. The image based workflow made deploying it surprisingly easy.”
Image-based deployment · 1
One commenter found the image-based workflow made deploying a small Seaside web project surprisingly easy.
“I think I used Squeak with the Seaside framework. The image based workflow made deploying it surprisingly easy.”
GUI portability · 1
One commenter reports implementing many native and web GUIs in Squeak and running it on many platforms.
“I have at least eight different GUIS implemented in Squeak”
Caveats and dissent
Memory use · 1
One commenter stopped using it because it used around 1GB of RAM to start.
“I thought it was using too much RAM for what it gave me (around 1GB to start with).”
High-res displays · 1
One commenter moved to Pharo for better high-resolution display support.
“I used to love using Squeak”
Bitrotted GUIs · 1
Some older GUI integrations no longer work in the latest release without porting effort.
“I have at least eight different GUIS implemented in Squeak”
Often compared with
Threads where it came up
- Squeak/Smalltalk 6.1 Release Notes 3 mentions
- Emacs Turns 50 1 mention
- Pharo 14 1 mention
- Back to the future: the story of Squeak, a practical Smalltalk written in itself [pdf] 1 mention
Data: squeak.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 6
“check out the Smalltalk implementation Squeak”
“I think I used Squeak with the Seaside framework. The image based workflow made deploying it surprisingly easy.”
“I thought it was using too much RAM for what it gave me (around 1GB to start with).”
“I used to love using Squeak”
“I have at least eight different GUIS implemented in Squeak”
“to this day it stands out as a novel software development experience that I'm very glad I did.”