The Eric Normand Podcast The Early History of Smalltalk
Feb 3, 2020
Discover the fascinating origins of Smalltalk and its revolutionary impact on object-oriented programming. Explore the shift towards flexible programming paradigms and the importance of concepts like message passing. Dive into the frustrations of software development and the need for user-driven customization. Learn about pivotal moments in programming history, including innovations from Xerox PARC that shaped Apple's trajectory. Reflect on the evolution of late binding in programming and its implications for software design.
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Smalltalk's Object-Oriented Design
- Smalltalk objects recursively compose behavioral building blocks, hiding state and process.
- Each object represents the entire computer's possibilities, communicating like a network.
Objects as Virtual Computers
- Alan Kay's object-oriented programming simulates virtual computers communicating over a fast network.
- This differs from today's metaphor of data and behavior fused together.
Goals of Object-Oriented Design
- Object-oriented design improves the efficiency of modeling complex systems by hiding details through modules.
- It also aims for a flexible approach to assignment, ideally eliminating it altogether.