Smalltalk-80 - Philip D Gray|Ramzan Mohamed

This book is intended to help you learn how to use Smalltalk-80. Like most practical programming books, you will only get the maximum benefit from reading if you carry out the exercises. Also, reading this book sequentially from cover to cover is not recommended. It is divided into two main parts: Part I, on the language itself, and Part II, on the programming environment.;The part on the language comes first because, in a theoretical sense, the language is conceptually prior to its programming environment. However, Smalltalk-80 is tied inextricably to its own distinctive environment, so it will probably not be possible for you to tackle the exercises in Part I without first reading relevant passages in Part II. This is intentional, and you will find "forward references" to such sections at various points throughout Part I.;The structure of the book reflects the commitment to "learning by doing" as the best way to acquire a new programming language. Most chapters have a descriptive component, plus a set of exercises. The description is there to introduce you to the concepts you will be using in the exercises; read this first part before tackling the exercises, but be prepared to refer back to the descriptions when needed.;The descriptive material is designed not only as an introduction, but also as a beginner's reference guide. Indeed, we hope that even experienced Smalltalk users will find basic information easier to locate in this book than in some more detailed reference works on Smalltalk.;This book covers Smalltalk-80, versions 2.1 to 2.5. We have also tested the exercises in Chapters 2, 3 and 4 with Apple Smalltalk v. 0.4. The exercises in Chapter 2 should work with Smalltalk/V Mac version 1.0.