IDC Study Finds Smalltalk Making a Move in Enterprise Development.

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 1995--In a broad study conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) of 296 experienced corporate programmers, Smalltalk rated highest among object-oriented programming languages for corporate application development.

The study was released today by the Smalltalk Industry Council (STIC), a non-profit trade association dedicated to growing the Smalltalk market.

"This survey gives us the first concrete feedback on how experienced corporate developers rate object-oriented languages," says Steve McClure, an analyst for IDC. "Even though Smalltalk was considered by many to be an underdog, it tied or scored first place in 19 out of 27 categories over other programming languages."

"One of our goals in forming STIC was to let the rest of the world know what we already knew: Smalltalk has successfully made the transition to mainstream corporate computing," said Reed Phillips, executive director of STIC and founder of Knowledge Systems Corp, a Smalltalk training and development company. "This survey was an important step in validating Smalltalk's role in the enterprise. The study proved that Smalltalk is gaining momentum as an idea whose time has come. In fact, IDC pointed out that `anyone who's anyone' is using Smalltalk - from vendors like IBM and HP to systems integrators such as Andersen Consulting, EDS and American Management Systems.

The best proof is in the large companies, like American Airlines, Credit Suisse and Texas Instruments, that are running critical parts of their business with Smalltalk ."

The IDC study, titled "Smalltalk Market Accelerates," reached three key conclusions: Smalltalk is more compatible with typical corporate developer skills than competing object-oriented languages; Smalltalk is gaining popularity in corporate MIS; and the misconceptions about Smalltalk are outdated. These conclusions were particularly noteworthy due to the significant experience of the respondents. To participate in the survey, respondents were required to have at least eighteen months hands-on experience in their particular language field.

Smalltalk More Compatible with Typical Corporate Developer Skills

-- Smalltalk is easy to learn because the syntax is simple and clear.

-- A programmer can become a recognized expert in Smalltalk in just 18 months compared to 23 months for C++.

-- It only takes nine months to learn to design, code and maintain Smalltalk applications.

-- When COBOL, 4GL, C++ and Smalltalk programmers were asked to rank competitive advantages of their own languages, Smalltalk ranked first or tied for first in more categories than any other language. Smalltalk ranked highest in the following categories: integration of the development environment, portability, openness, reliability, rapid development, cost-effective development and development of client/server applications.

Smalltalk Gaining Popularity in Corporate MIS

-- Twenty-six percent of object-oriented professionals who are not currently using Smalltalk would recommend Smalltalk to MIS shops planning to adopt object-oriented programming.

-- Smalltalk contract programmers are in demand, earning up to $150 an hour.

-- Smalltalk is the fastest-growing object-oriented language on the market, growing at a 60 percent annual rate.

-- Fifty-four percent of the time, Smalltalk is used for information retrieval/reporting/ query/decision support. Therefore, Smalltalk is typically used in a client/server computing model.

Misconceptions About Smalltalk Are Outdated

IDC's study found that four of the predominant misconceptions about Smalltalk - primarily related to its speed, garbage collection, memory and ease of use - are outdated. The study found that:

-- Smalltalk is not slow: Early versions of Smalltalk were interpreted, but today the code is compiled first in a platform-independent form to deliver more flexible and resilient applications.

-- Smalltalk garbage collection is an advantage: Garbage collection is a fact of life for developers. Smalltalk garbage collectors are designed by vendor experts, resulting in fewer bugs and increased programmer productivity.

-- Smalltalk memory requirements are reasonable: Advances in memory technology have diminished this issue.

-- Smalltalk has a steep learning curve: To learn Smalltalk, a programmer must learn object-oriented techniques. IDC believes this is a benefit resulting in better object-oriented programs.

IDC's research also showed that Smalltalk still has some problems to overcome. Smalltalk is well-suited to developing large-scale business applications, but it would not be the language of choice for someone developing a traditional operating system. Another area where Smalltalk still needs to grow is in tool availability. Although these areas are rapidly improving, Smalltalk is still thin on analysis/design tools, as well as tools to support object database management systems.

Other language productivity studies presented in the IDC report substantiate the IDC findings. Studies from Texas Instruments, EDS, The Canadian Defense Research Establishment and Capers Jones typically show three-fold increases in productivity for Smalltalk programmers when compared with programmers using more traditional languages.

Smalltalk was developed 25 years ago at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and is the only completely object-oriented programming language with substantial market share. Smalltalk introduced the basic concepts of object-orientation - classes, objects and methods - that are widely used in application development today.

The Smalltalk Industry Council was formed in May 1995. Member companies include: American Management Systems, Bytesmiths, Easel Corporation; Knowledge Systems Corp.; Linea Engineering; Objectshare Systems, Inc.; Object Technology International Inc.; ParcPlace Systems, Inc.; RothWell International, Inc.; Servio Corporation and The Object People. STIC's mission is to grow the Smalltalk market by encouraging participation by all members of the Smalltalk community. If your company would like to be a part of the future of Smalltalk by becoming a member of STIC, contact Reed Phillips at the STIC office, 4020 WestChase Boulevard, Suite 370, Raleigh, NC 27607, 919/821-0181, [e-mail].

For a copy of IDC report #9818, "Smalltalk Market Accelerates," contact the Smalltalk Industry Council at 919/821-0181, [e-mail].

CONTACT: Cunningham Communication, Inc.

Ellen Leeb, 408/764-0713

or

Smalltalk Industry Council

Reed Phillips, 919/821-0181