Editing VisualAge (section)

===VisualAge===
The name "VisualAge" is the result of a contest between the members of the development team. After the initial release of VisualAge/Smalltalk the name VisualAge became a brand of its own and VisualAges were produced for several different combinations of languages and platforms.

This is the eventual total of supported languages, variously available depending on the platform: [[BASIC]], [[COBOL]], [[C (programming language)|C]], [[C++]], [[EGL (programming language)|EGL]], [[Fortran]], [[Java (programming language)|Java]], [[Pacbase]], [[PL/I]], [[IBM RPG]], and [[Smalltalk]]. 

This is the eventual total of supported platforms, each of which support different languages: [[AIX]], [[OS/2]], [[i5/OS]] (formerly named [[OS/400]]), [[Linux]], [[Mac OS X]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Transaction Processing Facility|TPF]], [[z/VM]], [[z/OS]] (formerly named [[OS/390]], [[MVS]]), and [[z/VSE]].

In 1992, Apple and IBM cofounded [[Taligent]], based upon [[Apple Pink|Pink]], an operating system with a mass of sophisticated object-oriented compiler and application framework technology from Apple. Pink became CommonPoint, the partnership was dissolved, and CommonPoint was absorbed into VisualAge starting with the Compound Document Framework to handle OLE objects in VisualAge C++ 3.5 for Windows. In February 1997, the first mass release of Taligent technology came in the form of the Open Class within VisualAge C++ 4.0. This bundled SDK adaptation includes CommonPoint's frameworks for desktop (infrastructure for building unified OCX or OpenDoc components), web (called WebRunner, for making drag-and-drop compound documents for the web, and server CGIs), graphics for 2D GUI, international text for Unicode, filesystems, printing, and unit tests. ''PC Magazine'' said "Now, the best of the CommonPoint technology is being channeled into Open Class for VisualAge. ... For sheer breadth of features, the Taligent frameworks are unmatched. An all-encompassing OOP framework has always proved a difficult ideal to realize, but VisualAge's Open Class Technology Preview is by far the most credible attempt we've seen.".<ref name="Previewing Taligent">{{cite magazine | magazine=PC Mag | date=February 4, 1997 | first=Gabrielle | last=Gagnon | title=VisualAge for C++ 4.0: Previewing Taligent | url={{google books | id=ZwHxz0UaB54C | page=206 | plainurl=yes}} | access-date=February 12, 2019}}</ref>

Most of the members of the VisualAge family were written in Smalltalk no matter which language they supported for development. The IBM implementation of Smalltalk was produced by [[Object Technology International]] which was acquired by IBM and run as a wholly owned subsidiary for several years before being absorbed into the overall IBM organization.

VisualAge for Java is based on an extended Smalltalk [[virtual machine]] which executes both Smalltalk and Java [[byte code]]s. Java natives were actually implemented in Smalltalk.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/articles/2008/10/15/will-it-go-round-in-circles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019055616/http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/articles/2008/10/15/will-it-go-round-in-circles |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 19, 2008 |title=Will It Go Round in Circles? |publisher=denhaven2|access-date=October 19, 2016}}</ref>

VisualAge Micro Edition, which supports development of embedded Java applications and cross system development, is a reimplementation of the IDE in Java. This version of VisualAge morphed into the [[Eclipse (computing)|Eclipse Framework]].

Various members of the family have been replaced by products in the [[WebSphere]] Studio family of products. By 2005, Smalltalk specialist Instantiations, Inc. had assumed technical support responsibilities and been granted global rights to the IBM VisualAge Smalltalk product line and technology base.<ref>{{cite web|title=VisualAge Smalltalk Transition FAQ |url=http://www.instantiations.com/company/ibm-transition.html |publisher=Instantiations |access-date=March 12, 2018}}</ref> Instantiations continues to offer the “enhanced product” named VA Smalltalk (VAST Platform).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.instantiations.com/products/vasmalltalk/index.html |title=Smalltalk Products Home |publisher=Instantiations|access-date=May 19, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.instantiations.com/company/history.html |title=Instantiations History |publisher=Instantiations|access-date=May 19, 2009}}</ref> The C, C++ and Fortran compiler on AIX, Linux and z/OS are renamed as [[IBM XL C++|XL C/C++]] series.