patrikG wrote:Jenk wrote:That still bounds back to the same point.
It doesn't. You're missing some of the finer points.
1. What is so "right" about Smalltalk that makes it the alpha & omega?
2. Does PHP's user-base have anything to do with the direction PHP is developing?
3. Why is PHP bound to go down the Smalltalk route - esp. reg. question 2?
To make it clear: this is not a Smalltalk vs. PHP question. It's simply a question about language-inherent features, the "natural" environments of the languages etc.
To say "Smalltalk's got it right" is a clear opinion, but you'll need to add some facts to that as to why PHP is bound to down that route (question 3).
You are right, it's not a smalltalk vs php (or any language vs another language) but it's hard to detract from it when this stemmed from a seaside (smalltalk) framework based php framework.
1. Many reasons. A lot of features we see in upcoming versions of PHP, Java, etc. have been in Smalltalk for decades.
2. Yes, a lot of it. If not all of it.
3. This beckons back to right vs. wrong. Perhaps right vs wrong is the incorrect phrase.. how about "Works well vs Works, but not as well as it could" or "Well suited vs not entirely there yet." See my answer for Q 1, too.
An example of where things are headed.. PHP5 saw the introduction of the new object model, a vast improvement over the previous. PHP6 looks to have an even greater object model than in PHP5. Clearly, people want OO - Smalltalk is the apitomy of OO languages. There is absolutely, 100% nothing in Smalltalk that isn't an object. There is not such thing as an Operator or Keyword, either - they too are messages (methods) of the object. Even methods are objects, attached to the actual object.
Reflection in Java (and later, PHP) which has been implemented in the recent years, and many agree is a very powerful tool, is to allow the dynamic forming of objects - Smalltalk is based on this principle.
It's sad to see people bringing up ratings.. if I wanted to, I could point out that falling back onto ratings is a last resort because you can't produce anything more constructive - but I won't :p
As ev0l points out, Smalltalk has lacked in PR. Most Smalltalker's are happy with it that way though. Smalltalk did not have a company the size of Sun behind them, pushing it onto everyone who bought Sun hardware. Think Microsoft vs Linux/Unix. Same jam. The "better" is not necessarily the literal better.
