The Smalltalk language and environment meets the need for rapid and productive development with error rates one-half of other languages (according to studies of large systems by the Software Productivity Research Institute) because it is untyped, automatically handles memory allocation, and has a mature class library.

Platforms supported by various language vendors include Win98/NT, Macs, MVS, LINUX, and others.

We will introduce attendees to standard class hierarchies such as Collections and Streams, individual classes like Processes, Semaphores, and Gatekeepers, and environmental tools like the Debugger, Inspectors, and the Refactoring Browser in the context of a Distributed System with COM Automation. References to commercial and non-commercial products, a reading list, and the samples in the tutorial will be made available.

The objective of this tutorial is to jump-start an understanding of Smalltalk and its ability to solve attendees real-world problems.

Attendee Background: Assumes knowledge of and experience with Object Oriented concepts.

Kenneth (Ken) Perry wrote his first program in 1964 and developed his first commercial business application in 1965 and has been consulting in the development of primary support systems for large corporations for the last 20 years.

James (Jim) DuWaldt has worked on a wide range of systems, from trunk diagnostic software on central telephone switching office processors at Bell Laboratories to real time analysis displays with the first generation of Zoran DSP chips to accounting and banking software on PCs. Jim has been using the IBM and ObjectShare desktop flavors of Smalltalk since 1992 and enjoys their flexible environment and informative debugging tools.