Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!sdcsvax!nosc!humu!uhmanoa!sec
From: sec@uhmanoa.UUCP (James Chang)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
Subject: Re: Mac Smalltalk from Apple
Message-ID: <331@uhmanoa.UUCP>
Date: 23 Dec 87 19:47:45 GMT
References: <323@uhmanoa.UUCP> <80500023@uiucdcsp>
Reply-To: sec@uhmanoa.UUCP (James Chang)
Organization: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Lines: 38

In article <80500023@uiucdcsp> johnson@uiucdcsp.cs.uiuc.edu writes:
>
>Apple's unreleased Smalltalk seems to be as different from Smalltalk-80
>as Digitalk's, even though it is derived from Smalltalk-80.  Not only
>did they throw out MVC, but they are using Macintosh graphics instead of
>bitblt based graphics.  Thus, few applications will port.
>
>Unless portability is important to you, Apple's ideas make a lot of sense.
>The Mac graphics are much better (in my opinion) than the Smalltalk ones,
>and the Mac user interface is better too, at least for novices.  (I prefer
>three button mice and popup menus to one button mice and pulldown menus,
>but I am not a novice.)  Apple intends their system to be used to build 
>Macintosh applications.  If you want a conventional Smalltalk user-interface
>than you can buy Parc Place System's interpreter for the Mac.
I don't think pull down menu is any way better than pop up menu, even for
the novices. Only people who would prefer pull down menu is from Macintionsh
users

Also, pull down menu was designed specifically for Macintosh user interfaces
where only single application was running(until MultiFinder) in small screen.
But for Smalltalk systems where you have different windows running different
application, pull down menu is inappropriate.  

However the biggest problem I feel with MacSmalltalk is that It imposes
Mactinosh OS on to Smalltalk environment resulting very awkard compromises.
Remeber what the original intention of smalltalk which stands for modeless
editing and extensible user interfaces.  The current macintosh application
seemes to be heading toward more complex appliction with more complex 
user interfaces(try to use Word 3.0!!) with endless combination of command key
and option keys.  Let's go back to less complexity which provided by
standard smalltalk(at least in some sense) and more innovative ideas.
We don't need another metamorphorsis of good system such as Smalltalk-80 

-- 
  Sehyo Chang (Smalltalk Hacker) 	ARPA:	uhmanoa!sec@nosc.MIL          
  Software Engineering Research Lab	INTER:	sec@uhmanoa.ICS.HAWAII.EDU    	
  UH/ICS Dept, 2565 The Mall	        Disclaimer:  What opinions ? 
  Honolulu Hi, 96822 (808) 948-6938