Pharo Smalltalk runs in browser via WebAssembly
The gist
A web page loads the Pharo Smalltalk system in the browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly.
It lets users open Smalltalk code files directly, no install needed.
How it unfolded
- Feb 22, 2023Craig Latta presented "WebAssembly as a Smalltalk Compilation Target," describing initial experiments translating certain Smalltalk compiled methods to WASM.
- recentlyA page at massimo-nocentini.github.io/pharo-vm/world.html loads Pharo in the browser, requiring JavaScript and WebAssembly.
- recentlyThe page lets users drop in or open a Smalltalk .st file, a Pharo .zip, or an .image with its .changes and .sources.
Key terms
- Smalltalk
- A purely object-oriented programming language created in the 1970s at Xerox PARC for educational and later business use.
- WebAssembly
- A portable binary code format that lets complex software, compiled from languages like C/C++, run efficiently in web browsers.
- livecoding
- A performing art and creativity technique where source code is written improvisationally, often to create music, imagery, and light art.
Source: Wikipedia