This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Agile Buzz by James Robertson. Original Post: On a related note Feed Title: Cincom Smalltalk Blog - Smalltalk with Rants Feed URL: http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/rssBlog/rssBlogView.xml Feed Description: James Robertson comments on Cincom Smalltalk, the Smalltalk development community, and IT trends and issues in general. Latest Agile Buzz Posts Latest Agile Buzz Posts by James Robertson Latest Posts From Cincom Smalltalk Blog - Smalltalk with Rants

Well - right after I made that last post (scroll down one), I ran across something even more interesting on the IBM Smalltalk front. I don't think I can post the information I got - it didn't come to me through any kind of "official" channel :) Suffice to say, if you are being pitched on "transition strategies" or "Smalltalk modernization" - by which IBM seems to mean "migrate to Java and start using WebSphere", you might want to read over this post I made back in 2002. There's related information here. What you really need to ask yourself is this:

• If I do what they recommend, and migrate to Java - how long will it take me to stand still and end up with the same application I have now, only in a less maintainable language?
• If I instead looked at another Smalltalk implementation, wouldn't the transition be quicker, easier, and cheaper? After all, a transition from Smalltalk to Smalltalk is going to be simpler.

If you don't know where Cincom is going with Cincom Smalltalk, then check out our product roadmap.