This page will help get you started developing in Smalltalk. You can begin using Smalltalk on any popular platform, including handhelds. Depending upon the platform and OS you wish to use, you can choose from several different versions of Smalltalk.

New to Smalltalk?

Smalltalk is a portable, pure object-oriented langauge that runs on all popular platforms. It is known for being one of the best ways to learn object-oriented programming. Smalltalk is also a complete environment, designed especially for rapid development and deployment of applications. Read this overview to learn more reasons to develop in Smalltalk.

To begin with Smalltalk, you'll need to download and install the environment on your computer. A number of different versions of Smalltalk are available, both commercial and free, but some are more suitable for developers who are new to the environment. For the most part, these are all implementations of the Smalltalk language. That is, the syntax and semantics are essentially the same, the difference between the versions being in the tools, the class libraries, and the support for various platforms.

Once you've installed Smalltalk, you'll probably want to read a tutorial or pick up a book on the environment of your choice.

A number of community news and user groups are available. The community is active, helpful, and open to answering your questions.

The Smalltalk community also maintains a number of resources for sharing and distributing code. For sharing projects, there are several public code repositories. For samples and example code, you can find resources on a number of public Wikis.

Downloading Smalltalk

To download and begin with Smalltalk, the following versions are most recommended (you only need one!):

VisualWorks

VisualWorks (produced by Cincom Systems) is avialable in a free non-commercial version. It is full-featured, and runs on all popular platforms (MS-Windows, Apple, Intel Linux and most commercial UNIX). VisualWorks provides extensive support for databases, Internet, and Web Services. Download the Cincom Smalltalk Installation CD.

Dolphin Smalltalk

Dolphin Smalltalk (produced by Object Arts) is available in a 30-day free trail version. It is a full-featured environment, taylored specifically to the MS-Windows environment. Download Dolphin XP Installer.

Squeak

Squeak is a fully open-source version of Smalltalk that runs on nearly every platform in existence. It is well-suited for multimedia, education, and has a thriving user community Download the Squeak Installer.

For specialized applications, versions of Smalltalk are also available from IBM, GNU, and others.

Tutorials

Many tutorials are available for learning Smalltalk. You should choose a tutorial written for the version of Smalltalk you're using to get started. VisualWorks comes bundled with some tutorial material, and many tutorials for other versions can be found on the Internet.

The Smalltalk community is large and diverse. The community maintains a number of Wikis, which are available for exchanging information. You might start your explorations here.

The best place to contact the community is via the news group comp.lang.smalltalk, or one of the many local user groups. Many specialized groups also exist — a full list is available here. When posting questions or inquires to a news group, it is always a good idea to provide details in the body of your message. Be sure to mention the dialect and version of Smalltalk in question, as well as the platform you are using.

If you want immediate help, a dedicated Smalltalk IRC channel is also available, and you can generally find a few people on-line who will try to answer questions.

Enjoy!