Squeak 6.1(squeak.org)
286 points by fniephaus 11 days ago | 142 comments
tl;dr: Squeak 6.1 "Vanessa" ships four years after the last release, merging 1700+ patches with 9000+ method changes, and is dedicated to the late Vanessa Freudenberg. Highlights include a new hierarchical tree browser, the return of Objectland ("Worlds of Squeak"), ephemerons for instance-based finalization, and substantial improvements to process simulation, unwinding, and debugging (including recursive process-faithful debugging). Other notable additions: IPv6 enabled by default, HTTPS support in Monticello/Installer, expanded Regex features (Unicode, named groups), FFI varargs and ARM64 support, and numerous UI, high-DPI, and performance improvements throughout.
HN Discussion:
  • Smalltalk provides foundational understanding of true object-orientation and remains influential
  • Nostalgic appreciation from former Squeak users and contributors celebrating the release
  • Smalltalk's live introspection and GUI code inspection capabilities are uniquely valuable
  • Questions and requests for learning resources or comparisons to related tools like Glamorous Toolkit
  • Criticism that high-DPI and UI performance issues remain unfixed despite claimed improvements