What is Smalltalk written in?
Its runtime is implemented in C (well-documented). Smalltalk is self-hosting.
Relationship Graph
All directly connected languages. Click any node to navigate to its page.
Runtime Implementation
| Language | Confidence | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 95% | Squeak and Pharo VMs (primary Smalltalk implementations) written in C | Source |
Influenced By
- Simula — Alan Kay cited Simula as major influence
Languages Smalltalk Influenced
- Pharo — Pharo is Smalltalk dialect
- Objective-C — Objective-C directly adds Smalltalk message passing to C
- Ruby — Matz cited Smalltalk as major influence
- Java — Smalltalk influenced Java's OOP design
- Python — Python influenced by Smalltalk OOP model
- JavaScript — Brendan Eich cited Self (Smalltalk descendant) as influence
- Groovy — Groovy influenced by Smalltalk's dynamic dispatch
- Scala — Scala influenced by Smalltalk's uniform object model
- Go — Smalltalk influenced Go's interface system
- CoffeeScript — CoffeeScript influenced by Ruby and Smalltalk's expressiveness
Frequently Asked Questions
What language is Smalltalk written in?
Smalltalk is primarily implemented in C. See the implementation section above for details and source references.
What languages influenced Smalltalk?
Smalltalk was influenced by Simula among others. See the influence section above for the full list.
Which languages did Smalltalk influence?
Smalltalk influenced Objective-C, Ruby, Python among others.
Is Smalltalk self-hosting?
Yes, Smalltalk is self-hosting — its compiler can compile itself.
Evidence Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalltalk
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objective-C
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_(programming_language)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scala_(programming_language)
- https://auth0.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-javascript/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(programming_language)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CoffeeScript
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharo
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Groovy
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeak