Squeak: Open Personal Computing and Multimedia [Paperback]

Mark J. Guzdial (Author), Kimberly M. Rose (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0130280917 | ISBN-13: 978-0130280916

The only advanced book on Squeak, an important up-and-coming programming language, and includes an introductory chapter to help those who know programming but not Squeak. Squeak is the only tool that allows users to explore computer music, digital sound, advanced user interfaces, 3-D computer graphics, Flash animation, and virtual machine creation (such as for embedded systems) across Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. This book is the best documentation of Squeak for those purposes. Provides details on 3-D Computer Graphics, Advanced UI, Streaming Audio, and other multimedia topics. Provides detailed tours of the architecture of a virtual machine (including tradeoffs), porting it to multiple platforms and extensions mechanisms. Includes description of the efforts of an Open Source Community. Appropriate for all professionals in Advanced Object-Oriented Programming, Multimedia Systems and Developments, and Software Engineering Special-Topics: Open-Source, and Embedded Systems fields as an authoritative guide to the use of Squeak as a Multimedia Tool.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Point of view is worth 80 IQ points-and here are many useful points of view about Squeak." - Alan Kay, V-P Research, Walt Disney Imagineering

From the Back Cover

Written by the leading experts in the worldwide Squeak community, this book assembles a compelling vision of what programming can be. Squeak: Open Personal Computing and Multimedia is the only book on Squeak that addresses the advanced features for the student, researcher, multimedia developer, open source developer, hobbyist, and the professional. Developed for Smalltalk, it is for anyone that wants a powerful, cross-platform, and open alternative to the traditional multimedia and exploratory languages.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

• CD-ROM included: Contains the complete Squeak environment, which consists of the version 2.9 virtual image and complete sources, and the virtual machine ports for a wide range of processors and operating systems. Also, numerous tutorials and Squeak applications.
• Foreword by Alan Kay, Vice President of Research for Walt Disney Imagineering and the vision behind Squeak.
• THE authoritative guide, to the use of Squeak as a multimedia tool: Provides details on 3-D computer graphics, advanced UI, streaming audio, computer music, and other multimedia topics.
• Shows how Squeak supports the open source developer, from building and extending cross-platform software, to eXtreme Programming (XP).
• Illustrates how to use Squeak to create and extend virtual machines for multimedia or embedded systems, such as cable set-top boxes and video game consoles.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 511 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (August 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130280917
• ISBN-13: 978-0130280916
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,165,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I started teaching computing in February 1980. I was 17 in my senior year of high school, and I taught "Bits, Bytes, and Basic" in a community education class. I taught through my undergrad years--community education, afterschool classes, GED classes, and even community college in 1984. I read "Personal Dynamic Media" by Adele Goldberg and Alan Kay while on an internship at Bell Labs in 1982. I'd never before thought about computing FOR learning (as opposed to learning ABOUT computing). Adele and Alan's thoughts and words set me on the road to my PhD in Education and Computer Science at the University of Michigan in 1993. Nowadays, I focus on using lessons from learning sciences and educational technology for teaching about computing.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A vision emerging. January 14, 2003

By Richard Staehli

Format:Paperback

This book was an ambitious attempt to describe both a vision of what personal computing could be and to provide a much needed technical overview of Squeak. Although largely successful, the buyer should be warned that some chapters in this book refer to online software that has yet to be written or is not currently available online. In particular, Alan Kay provides an unintended joke with his forward to the book. He states that Squeak is a "dynamic medium for creative thought" and that the foreward to the book should be an online active essay in Squeak. Unfortunately, the essay, "It Should Be Active, But Where (and When) Will It Be?" does not yet exist!

As Squeak continues to evolve rapidly, this book may become obsolete in a few years, but it currently provides some of the best technical overviews of Squeak's Morphic UI, networking, 3D animation, and other fun topics.