S8 Smalltalk allows objects to run on different computational platforms and interact transparently across systems. It provides syntax extensions to access lower-level execution details when needed. S8 objects can utilize various APIs and run on platforms like Windows, Lua, and Android through a common foundation layer. This enables interaction between S8 systems running on different machines, like one on Windows/JavaScript, one on Windows/Lua, and one on Android. Developers can share code and resources across targets through the U8 universe repository.

1. Choosing where to
run our objects: the
S8 Smalltalk
approach
FAST SMALLTALKS 2019 – NUEQUÉN - ARGENTINA

2. Freedom

3. Is related to the ability to act or change with
no constraint. We could say that something
is "free" if it can change easily and is not
constrained in its present state.

4. S8 Smalltalk is nor the syntax, neither the
execution machinery it’s running on top of
(even more, S8 provides extensions to
Smalltalk syntax whenever we want to
express/access something at the lower
levels of the execution engine)

5. As we run on top of low level execution
machinery that is not opaque[1], there are
times we want to express/access something
at the lower levels of the execution engine.
S8 compiler support a small number of
extensions to Smalltalk syntax to access
objects in native layers.

6. [1] Information hiding is a facility
imposed to let us not be distracted by
underlying mechanisms WHEN (and
only when) we do not want to.

7. We want our objects to be capable of
interacting with any computational
resources

8. And support the APIs we need…

9. For example: Android API
Add native object behavior in S8.
This is something straightforward
We would do this by looking at Android
developer to learn Android API and
immediately write S8 builders that will
generate S8 wrappers on native objects.
We use builders to minimize errors, instead of
having to write each wrapper method.

10. We also want S8 to provide a
foundation support to access objects
transparently regardless the execution
context/execution machine/platform
combination where S8 objects run

11. The fact of having this layer supporting
this transparent access provides a
means to build tools for interacting
transparently with objects

12. An S8 system can run on multiple execution
engines
Hence we can have interacting S8 systems
running on different platform/execution
machine/execution context combinations

13. For instance, let’s look at three S8
systems interacting:
- S8 system one: running on Windows
platform on top of javascript machinery
- S8 system two: running on Windows on
to top of Lua machinery on LuaStudio
execution context
- S8 system three: running on Android

14. S8 Smalltalk is object technology over a
network of S8 systems running in different
targets
Each target defined by a combination of
platform, execution machine and execution
context

15. We want to share and interact over this
emerging S8 systems network: we have
U8 to accomplish this.

16. http://u8.smalltalking.net/
U8 is our universe. A global repository of
resources for developing with S8.
All MIT licensed sources to target all
platforms where our objects run.
U8 provides a medium to share, show and
store images, modules and/or file based
resources.

17. Join S8 community group at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/s8s
malltalk/