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Cincom Smalltalk™ Digest: September Edition

Posted on by Author Jeremy Jordan in Categories Cincom Smalltalk, Cincom Smalltalk Digest Newsletter Archive, Smalltalk

Smalltalk Digest

Welcome to the September 2021 edition of the Cincom Smalltalk Digest. In this month’s newsletter, you will find the following:

CUSTOMERS and PARTNERS

  • What Security Changes Are Coming to Cincom’s FTP Site?
  • An Opportunity to Learn More about Cincom Smalltalk 9.1
  • Customer and Partner Guide to Reaching Cincom Smalltalk Support

BEGINNERS, FREELANCERS and DEVELOPERS

  • Acronym Soup and Buzzword Bingo: What Is RPA, CSV, FRED and “No-Code Low-Code?”
  • Component of the Month: ClassCloning
  • Have You Checked Out the Modeling and Mapping Tool?
  • What Commercial Smalltalk Opportunities Does Cincom Offer?
  • Be a Part of Our Amazing Team!
  • What Can We Help You Find?

CUSTOMERS and PARTNERS

What Security Changes Are Coming to Cincom’s FTP Site?

Cincom completed another step in strengthening the security of its ftp.cincom.com site. On October 1, 2021, the secure FTP protocols SFTP and HTTPS will be in effect. Here are the ways to make a smooth transition:

  1. When using an FTP client application, make sure to choose the secure FTP option. 
    1. You may need to enter sftp://ftp.cincom.com in the host field.
    2. Enter your Cincom-provided FTP user name and password in the client application.
  2. When connecting to cincom.com via a browser to download fixes or resolutions, use the following syntax:

sftp://ftp.cincom.com or https://ftp.cincom.com

Depending on your browser, you will be prompted to open an FTP client app, or an FTP client will open. Refer to the information in item 1 above.

Your user name and password will not change. 

Contact Helpna@cincom.com for help with using SFTP or for requesting login credentials.

An Opportunity to Learn More about Cincom Smalltalk 9.1

Earlier this year, we released Cincom Smalltalk 9.1 to our valued customers and partners. Cincom Smalltalk 9.1 is the current, major release of Cincom® ObjectStudio® 9.1 and Cincom® VisualWorks® 9.1. The 9.x series began our path to move the products closer together, with the intent of offering the best tools and solutions as we continue to improve and enhance infrastructure.

We are excited about an opportunity for Arden Thomas, the Cincom Smalltalk Product Manager, to present Cincom Smalltalk 9.1 at the October UK Smalltalk User Group Meetup. Arden will be giving more details about the new releases and what value they offer to customers and partners.

This online meetup will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST on October 27, which will be here before you know it. Make your plans now to attend this presentation.

  • You can monitor other future meetups and conferences as well as any changes to their scheduling on our Events page.

Customer and Partner Guide to Reaching Cincom Smalltalk Support

For quick access to Cincom Smalltalk Support, please take note of this list:

Reach out to the Cincom Smalltalk Product Team at CSSTARTeam@cincom.com if you have any further questions or comments.

BEGINNERS, FREELANCERS and DEVELOPERS

This section is dedicated to Smalltalk beginners, freelancers and developers. Here you can find informative articles and see specific Smalltalk examples for learning new skills or enhancing existing skills using Cincom Smalltalk.

Acronym Soup and Buzzword Bingo: What Is RPA, CSV, FRED and “No-Code Low-Code?”

The Hidden Gems screencast series was created for developers who are passionate about using Cincom Smalltalk. These screencasts give the viewer live coding examples while sharing valuable insight into the product and informing them about things they may not know.

In last month’s Hidden Gems screencast, we showed you a Store replication tool that you can use to back up your whole (or select parts) repository.  We used an SQLite repository as the target.

In this month’s Hidden Gems screencast, we will demonstrate tools that are relevant to:

  • RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
  • FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
  • CSV (Comma Separated Values)

We will show you how to automate the download of FRED data (CSV format) from a website using the Power Automate Desktop tool (RPA). Then we will show you a tool to give you “No-Code” access to that data with the Smalltalk CSVDataExplorer.  Low-Code comes into effect if you want to customize the code that the tool provides. The CSVDataExplorer uses an IETF standard for the format.

This screencast is part of the Techniques Series that shows various techniques for accomplishing or solving different tasks using Cincom Smalltalk, as well as the Tools Series, which explores some tools and product features that developers should find useful.

If you have questions, comments or ideas for other Smalltalk examples or suggestions for future Hidden Gems, please email the Cincom Smalltalk Product Team at CSSTARTeam@cincom.com.

Component of the Month: ClassCloning

Last month we highlighted the StoreForGlorpReplication, which is a tool that allows you to choose and select bundles and packages (or everything) and replicate them from one Store repository to another. Last month’s featured Hidden Gems screencast also demonstrated how to use the contributed tool StoreForGlorpReplication. 

This month we are highlighting ClassCloning, which is a utility to clone a class with a new name. For times when you want a similar class as a base for modifications, and it doesn’t make sense to subclass, ClassCloning is a quick and easy tool to use. Watch this Hidden Gem screencast for a demonstration.

  • To learn more about other Contributed Components, click here.
  • If you have created something you think would be of value and interest to other Smalltalk developers or could help attract new users to Smalltalk, please apply through the Contributed Application Form here.
  • To help developers find, understand, appreciate and utilize your contributed work, please use the guidelines for the final documentation of your contributed work here.

Have You Checked Out the Modeling and Mapping Tool?

If you are looking for another “No Code Low Code” tool, the Cincom ObjectStudio Modeling and Mapping Tool is a great example. Cincom ObjectStudio is an ideal solution for developing custom applications for Windows®. Known as the “business analyst’s thinking tool,” and based on object-oriented programming in Smalltalk, ObjectStudio provides a powerhouse development environment, which is necessary to create innovative applications that capture complex business models and processes. Both Cincom ObjectStudio and Cincom VisualWorks share the same core libraries and foundation, the Cincom Smalltalk Foundation.

Two powerful components found in ObjectStudio are the Modeling and Mapping Tools. In addition to being a developer’s writing application for clients, these components can also create a proof of concept or visual aid in which developers and Marketing can communicate. The Modeling and Mapping Tools can help build a visual walkthrough of the entire application—from the front to the back end. This helps developers and their clients be on the same page before months of development time and money are spent on writing the actual application.

The Modeling and Mapping Tools in Cincom ObjectStudio:

  • Show how quickly the application can be built, what can be built on to it or even that the idea may not be ready yet.
  • Give business owners more clarity on how to proceed with the project and show what their products will look like to their current customers or new prospects.
  • Save money, simplify complexity and speed up delivery time.
  • Allow the product owners to focus on other areas of their businesses, such as identifying prospects.

From developers and business owners to investors and customers, the Modeling and Mapping Tools can show what’s possible with the application.

Want to learn more and see the Modeling and Mapping Tool in action? On our website there are tutorials on the Modeling and Mapping Tools, as well as recorded, live demonstrations previously presented by Product Management and Engineering.

  • You can find those videos and more information about the Modeling and Mapping Tools here.

What Commercial Smalltalk Opportunities Does Cincom Offer?

Cincom Systems, Inc. has been at the forefront of innovative software design, development and products for over 50 years. Over 20 years ago, Cincom brought Smalltalk into our family and has been a reliable and experienced provider for those who are looking for commercial Smalltalk offerings.

We have several types of licensing options available, but two of the most popular programs include the Cincom Smalltalk Personal Use License Program and the REV 9.1 Program.

Cincom Smalltalk Personal Use License Program

With the Cincom Smalltalk Personal Use License (CST PUL) Program, developers receive Cincom Smalltalk, reflecting on the strength of the Cincom brand and the over two decades of being a commercial Smalltalk provider. The CST PUL Program allows the freedom for interested developers to evaluate our products before realizing that Cincom Smalltalk is the right fit for their businesses or project needs. 

As with the latest releases of Cincom Smalltalk 9.x that customers and partners receive, the CST PUL:

  • Gives developers both Cincom ObjectStudio and Cincom VisualWorks, simplifying the decision-making and making it easy for interested users to select the right Cincom Smalltalk product for their business needs.
  • Allows ObjectStudio users to experience the robust, cross-platform application development environment of VisualWorks.
  • Lets VisualWorks users have easy access to the Next Generation User Interface, Modeling and Mapping Tools and Round-trip Engineering capabilities that are exclusive to ObjectStudio.

Watch this video to hear examples of how this trial license has been used by others.

Click here to start exploring Cincom Smalltalk and all that it can do for you.

REV 9.1 Program

Since the latest release of Cincom Smalltalk 9.1, the demand for this program has sky-rocketed as users demand more than they can receive from the CST PUL Program. The REV 9.1 Program is a bridge between the Personal Use License and full licensing. It allows for an affordable entry into your connection with the Cincom platform.

The REV 9.1 Program is available for purchase on our website and gives developers the opportunity to invest in their futures with:

  • A preview of the customer experience with Cincom
  • A one-year, $1,000 non-renewable license
  • Full support for one year

Smalltalk prides itself on simplicity, and the REV 9.1 Program is a simple process that takes just a few steps to get started. If you are interested, click here and begin your journey!

Be a Part of Our Amazing Team!

If you are a software engineer who wants to live where you want and take your rewarding career with you, then keep reading!

The Opportunity:

Cincom’s Smalltalk group is looking for a software engineer to join its global development team to develop and maintain Cincom Smalltalk™. 

Our People: 

We have a variety of people like Peloton riders, outdoor cyclists, photographers, coffee drinkers, tea aficionados, whisky connoisseurs, volunteers, yogis, chanters, people who sail the seven seas and those who climb the tallest mountains. We have happy people, people with young children, people who send children off to the next room to virtually attend university courses and folks who wait for lockdown to end so they can travel the world and code while doing it. In our team, you could find a friend or perhaps the other three members for your adventure race team!

Job Qualifications:

  1. A passion for and experience with Smalltalk (Cincom Smalltalk experience a plus)
  2. Significant C experience
  3. Language design that involves Smalltalk
  4. Experience with assembly language, possibly JIT, is a plus.
  5. Background in developing quality Smalltalk code and delivering product feature documentation
  6. Problem-solving skills and a can-do attitude are essential in this role.
  7. Must be able to work individually and in a distributed team environment
  8. Experience with API calls and platform libraries on various operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix)

Note: The Cincom Smalltalk Development Team is a fully distributed/remote team.

… an equal opportunity employer

We offer a competitive base salary plus benefits.

If you are a software engineer who might be interested in joining a product group that is ready to share Smalltalk with the world via clean code, cool campaigns and much more, please submit your resume/CV and cover letter letting us know why you want to join our team, as well as salary requirements, to Suzanne Fortman with Reference Requisition 4704.

Don’t ignore this opportunity! Maybe you are happy where you are, but could you be happier by making Smalltalk an exciting part of your career path? It never hurts to check it out. Don’t be scared of change!

What Can We Help You Find?

Over the course of the next few months, we will be unveiling several new and exciting things for our customers, partners and users.  One of these changes is a new website.  We will debut that in next month’s Cincom Smalltalk Digest.

In the meantime, what can we help you find on our current website? We have our customer, partner and user resources and programs and product information listed here:

CUSTOMERS:

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Reach out to the Cincom Smalltalk Product Team at CSSTARTeam@cincom.com if you have any further questions or comments.

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