Smalltalks

Smalltalks is a plural term that can refer to multiple informal conversations or to the various dialects and discussions surrounding the Smalltalk family of programming languages. In everyday use, small talk denotes brief, casual exchanges about non-controversial topics that help establish social rapport. The expression is usually treated as uncountable, with “small talk” used in the singular, while “small talks” appears mainly when counting individual conversations rather than describing a category.

In computing, Smalltalk refers to a family of object-oriented programming languages and their integrated development environments, originally developed at Xerox PARC in the 1970s. The term “Smalltalks” is sometimes used informally to refer to the multiple dialects and implementations that descended from the original project, such as Smalltalk-80, Squeak, Pharo, VisualWorks, and GNU Smalltalk. Core characteristics include a uniform object model in which nearly all entities are objects, a dynamic and reflective type system, and an image-based development model that saves program state as a single image. Smalltalk environments emphasize live coding, immediate feedback, and the ability to modify running programs, which has influenced later dynamic languages and development tools.

History and influence: The first Smalltalk was crafted at Xerox PARC by researchers including Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg. It popularized concepts such as message sending, rapid prototyping, and integrated environments, shaping the design of many subsequent object-oriented languages and modern development environments. Today, Smalltalks remain a reference point in discussions of live programming and object-oriented pedagogy. See also Smalltalk (programming language) and its notable dialects.