Editing Strongtalk

{{Short description|Smalltalk environment}}
{{For|strong talk|strong language}}
{{Infobox programming language
| name = Strongtalk
| logo = <!-- Filename -->
| logo caption =
| screenshot = <!-- Filename -->
| screenshot caption =
| paradigm = [[Object-oriented programming|object-oriented]]
| family = [[Smalltalk]]
| designers = [[Gilad Bracha]],<br/>David Griswold
| developers = Animorphic Systems,<br/>[[Sun Microsystems]]
| released = {{Start date and age|2002|07|01|df=yes}}
| latest release version = 2.0
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2006|08|09|df=yes}}
| latest preview version =
| latest preview date = <!-- {{Start date and age|202y|mm|dd|df=yes}} -->
| typing = [[Type system|dynamic]], optional [[Static typing|static]] ([[Strong and weak typing|strong]])
| scope = [[Scope (computer science)|Lexical]] (static)
| programming language = [[Smalltalk]]
| discontinued = stalled
| platform = [[IA-32]]
| operating system = [[Cross-platform software|cross-platform]]
| license = [[BSD licenses|BSD revised]]
| file ext =
| file format = <!-- or: | file formats = -->
| website = {{URL|www.strongtalk.org}}
| implementations = 
| dialects =
| influenced by = [[Smalltalk]], [[Self (programming language)|Self]]
| influenced = [[Java (programming language)|Java]] [[HotSpot (virtual machine)|HotSpot]]
}}
In computing, '''Strongtalk''' is a [[Smalltalk]] environment with optional [[static typing]] support. Strongtalk can make some [[compile time]] checks, and offer ''stronger'' [[type safety]] guarantees; this is the source of its name. It is non-commercial, though it was originally a commercial project developed by a small [[startup company]] named ''LongView Technologies'' (trading as ''Animorphic Systems'').

==History==
David Griswold wanted to use Smalltalk more extensively, but then-extant implementations were insufficient for his needs. He wanted to improve the performance, add type-checking, and use native [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) [[Widget (GUI)|widgets]].<ref>{{cite web 
| url= http://www.strongtalk.org/history.html 
| title= Strongtalk history
| work= Strongtalk.org
}}</ref> His efforts resulted in the 1993 paper he co-authored with [[Gilad Bracha]].<ref>{{cite book
| last1=Bracha |first1=Gilad |author-link1=Gilad Bracha |last2=Griswold |first2=David
|chapter=Strongtalk: Typechecking Smalltalk in a production environment | title= Proceedings of the eighth annual conference on Object-oriented programming systems, languages, and applications
| pages= 215–230
| year= 1993
|doi=10.1145/165854.165893 |isbn=0-89791-587-9 | chapter-url= http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/bracha93strongtalk.html
}}</ref> This version was based on adding type-checking to the [[PARC_(company)|ParcPlace Systems]] implementation of Smalltalk. However, an implementation begun from scratch could gain a better typing system.

He became interested in the improvements that the team for the language [[Self (programming language)|Self]] had achieved, and envisioned the same methods used to improve Smalltalk. [[Urs Hölzle]], who worked on the powerful Self compiler, spoke with Griswold about implementing the same ''type feedback'' in a Smalltalk compiler. Griswold, Hölzle, [[Lars Bak (computer programmer)|Lars Bak]], and others formed a small company (LongView Technologies, doing business as Animorphic Systems) to re-implement Strongtalk. Work began in 1994 and they completed an implementation in 1996. The firm was bought by [[Sun Microsystems]] in 1997, and the team got focused on [[Java (programming language)|Java]], releasing the [[HotSpot (virtual machine)|HotSpot]] virtual machine,<ref name="official">{{cite web 
| url= http://www.strongtalk.org/
| title= Strongtalk: A High-Performance Open Source Smalltalk With An Optional Type System
| access-date= 7 April 2011
}}</ref> and work on Strongtalk stalled.

Sun released the 1997 re-implementation of Strongtalk as [[open-source software]] under a ''revised'' [[BSD licenses|BSD license]], including the Strongtalk [[system image]] in 2002, and the [[virtual machine]] in 2006.  Strongtalk is touted as the fastest implementation of [[Smalltalk]].<ref name="official" /> Strongtalk is available for [[Windows XP]] (other [[porting|ports]] are in the works) and includes a basic development environment.

==See also==
* [[JavaScript]]
* [[HotSpot (virtual machine)|HotSpot]] (Java virtual machine)

==References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links ==
* {{Official website|www.strongtalk.org}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040908103336/http://www.smalltalk.org/versions/StrongSmalltalk.html ''Strong Smalltalk''] at ''smalltalk.org''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061018021915/http://code.google.com/p/strongtalk/ Strongtalk] at [[Google Code]]

{{Smalltalk programming language}}

[[Category:High-level programming languages]]
[[Category:Object-oriented programming languages]]
[[Category:Class-based programming languages]]
[[Category:Dynamically typed programming languages]]
[[Category:Smalltalk programming language family]]
[[Category:Programming languages created in 2002]]
[[Category:Cross-platform free software]]
[[Category:Formerly proprietary software]]