AW: noob to GNU Smalltalk

Dear Bill,

it wasn't my intention to rank any Smalltalk implementation atop of another=
. For a programming language the analogy of a zoo is not quite compelling -=
 the analogy of a dialect on the other hand is natural. And - as American E=
nglish is not superior to Oxford English (or the other way round) or to Aus=
tralian, or Irish English, there are certainly English dialects that are co=
nsidered the "main" ones.

All the best to all Smalltalkers!
Helge

Helge Nowak
Cincom Smalltalk Technical Account Manager

Cincom Systems GmbH & Co. oHG
Humboldtstra=DFe 3
60318 Frankfurt am Main=20
GERMANY
office
mobile

website
email
+49 89 89 66 44 94
+49 172 74 00 402

https://www.cincomsmalltalk.com
[email protected]
A standpoint is an intellectual horizon of radius zero. -- Albert Einstein

Gesch=E4ftsf=FChrer/Managing Directors: Karl William Gilbank
oHG mit Sitz/based in Frankfurt am Main (Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main HRA =
50297)
Pers. haftender Gesellschafter/Partner liable to unlimited extent:
Cincom Systems Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH (Amtsgericht K=F6nigstein/Ts. HR=
B 5069)=20
=A0
--- CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT ---
This e-mail transmission contains information that is intended to be privil=
eged and confidential. It is intended only for the addressee named above. I=
f you receive this e-mail in error, please do not read, copy or disseminate=
 it in any manner. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, c=
opying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibit=
ed, please reply to the message immediately by informing the sender that th=
e message was misdirected. After replying, please erase it from your comput=
er system. Your assistance in correcting this error is appreciated.


-----Urspr=FCngliche Nachricht-----
Von: bill-auger <[email protected]>=20
Gesendet: Montag, 5. Januar 2026 16:54
An: Nowak, Helge <[email protected]>
Cc: Duke Normandin <[email protected]>; [email protected]
Betreff: Re: noob to GNU Smalltalk

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of Cincom's email system. Do no=
t click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know =
the content is safe. Thanks - If in doubt, contact the Service Desk at it.s=
[email protected] or your local IT personnel.


On Mon, 5 Jan 2026 08:49:36 +0000 Helge wrote:
> GNU Smalltalk differs from the main Smalltalk dialects significantly

and/but OTOH and IIRC, GNU Smalltalk is the nearest to the ANSI dialect, wh=
ich is actually the stronger formalized concept of a standard - a standard =
has more of the character of "main-ness" than ordinary organic dialects

if one takes "main" to be "the most standardized or interoperable" then GNU=
 Smalltalk is actually the best match for a "main Smalltalk dialect"; so it=
 would be remiss not to mention that perhaps ironic twist

presumably, the quoted use of "main" is a measure of popularity (eg: number=
 of
installs) rather than of technical similarity or heritage, or the domain of=
 some authority, or otherwise what people usually mean by "main-line"

the smalltalks are best described a language zoo - none qualify or deserve =
such a badge of "main-ness", nor "de-facto", nor so on - a IRL zoo would no=
t present one animal as the main animal, though some may be favorites of so=
me or other visitors