Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!crdgw1!uunet!munnari.oz.au!metro!news From: objtch@extro.ucc.su.oz.au (Peter Goodall) Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk Subject: IBM and Digitalk's Smalltalk /VPM Summary: Request for info on relationship between IBM and Digitalk Keywords: IBM Digitalk Smalltalk Message-ID: Date: 19 Nov 90 22:33:55 GMT Sender: news@metro.ucc.su.OZ.AU (news) Distribution: comp Organization: Uni Computing Service, Uni of Sydney, Australia Lines: 44 Nntp-Posting-Host: extro.ucc.su.oz.au johnson@m.cs.uiuc.edu writes: >...... On the other >hand, my guess is that Digitalk is actually ahead on the number of >units sold, because their prices are a lot lower and they run on less >expensive machines. Their quality has been steadily improving over >the years and they are now very popular with OS/2 developers. In >fact, they recently signed an agreement with IBM so that now IBM is ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >promoting Smalltalk-V/PM for OS/2. Does anynone have more details on this agreement bewtween Digitalk and IBM? Here in Australia the info and rumors from IBM seem a little confused to say the least. Microsoft think that IBM is using Smalltalk, but not /VPM. My contact with IBM indicates that they are definitely using Smalltalk/VPM but prefer the public to think that they are using C to do everything. Often they develop their GUIs in /VPM and then convert to C. Though I do believe that some new UIs from IBM are at least partially implemented in /VPM. They also say that it is possible that the use a Smalltalk to C translator. I don't believe in Smalltalk to C translators, what they probably have is methods on some classes that will spit out C code which will describe a program simulating the Smalltalk interface they have developed. Having recently purchased Acumen's marvelous Widget toolkit for Smalltalk/V286 and examining their code, I can see a number of strategies for achieving this. (Widgets generates Smalltalk not C). Also rumour has it that Digitalk was getting a bit hot under the collar, because IBM was using /VPM to develop their new GUIs and applications without giving any credit whatsoever to Digitalk. Has this changed? Thanks, Peter Goodall objtch@extro.ucc.su.OZ.AU