Smalltalk Digest: February Edition

Welcome to the February 2018 edition of the Cincom Smalltalk™ Digest.

The Lego Blocks of Application Development

How one, simple concept can provide massive reuse and simplification for your applications

The purpose of the Hidden Gems Screencast is to give developers who use Cincom Smalltalk some insight into useful abilities of the products that may not be obvious. In this month’s edition, Arden Thomas, the Cincom Smalltalk Product Manager, continues the ValueModel mini-series.  The powerful concept of ValueModels can make your applications simpler, more modular and more reusable―if you know how to use them.

The first screencast introduces the “DomainMaster,” the lego blocks of application development. DomainMaster is a framework that makes your application a ValueModel and takes application reuse to a new level. DomainMaster gives you the power of “one”―one domain, one focus and one very reusable application. This is accomplished by following some simple framework guidelines that make frequent, typical patterns easy and simple, allowing you to assemble more complex applications from standardized pieces, just like legos. Check out the introduction by Arden here:

The second screencast about DomainMaster patterns 1, 2, and 3 code examples. Watch this demonstration here:

If you have any questions, please send them or other comments and suggestions to athomas@cincom.com.  Thanks!

Arden Thomas
Cincom Smalltalk Product Manager

Innovative Cincom® VisualWorks® Application Leads to a Historical Discovery about a Famous Composer

Georg Heeg, a premier partner who uses Cincom Smalltalk for custom application development projects throughout central Europe, tells a story about a unique and interesting use of Cincom VisualWorks. The goal of the project was to determine the house in which composer Johann Sebastian Bach had lived during his time in Cöthen, Germany. Heeg―a Cöthen resident―found several innovative uses of VisualWorks as part of the effort to discover which house it was.

You won’t believe what Georg found!  Check out the story here.

Are You Ready to Take Your Business to the Next Level?

In the user story above, Georg Heeg used Cincom VisualWorks in a very innovative way.  But, that’s not the only story of how Heeg uses Cincom Smalltalk to build his business. Over the years, Georg has built a great reputation as an honest and reputable businessman, an innovator, and trustworthy partner with Cincom.

You can, too!

Now, you too, have a valuable opportunity to partner with us, be innovative and rev up your business to the next level using Cincom Smalltalk!  Join the Rev Program―a  quick, easy way to partner with us and grow your business with a limited Value Added License Agreement. At only $500, it’s a great investment that could pay big dividends as you grow your business. Plus, this program gives you all the benefits of being a customer with us. 

Don’t let another day go by. Let’s grow your business together:

“How Do I … ?” Frequently Asked Questions

The Cincom Smalltalk Product Team fields questions from partners, customers and users of Cincom Smalltalk about a number of topics concerning our products. Some of these include topics about customer orders, product installation and website navigation among others. In order to provide a better user experience, we have created a “How Do I … ?” frequently asked questions knowledge base on our website. This new forum will allow us to build out these questions in a more organized way and provide answers that are searchable and categorized for ease of use. We’ve also provided a way for anyone to ask the Product Team a new question that may not be on the list for inclusion into the knowledge base.

To check out the growing archive of these questions, click here.

Why You Should Create a Personal Business Plan

It is common knowledge that when starting a business, it’s imperative to write a business plan. Susan Ward of Thebalance.com discusses this in Why Should You Write a Business Plan?:

“The business plan is the blueprint for your business. You wouldn’t walk over to an empty lot and just start nailing boards together if you wanted to build a house. Starting a business without a business plan is just as foolish.”

Entrepreneur.com also discusses 10 Business Plan Benefits You Might Be Forgetting citing #1 as staying on strategy:

“It’s hard to stick to strategy through the daily routine and interruptions. Use a business plan to summarize the main points of your strategy and as a reminder of what it both includes and rules out.”

The necessity and importance of a business plan are essential for starting a business. But have you ever thought about writing a personal business plan?  Suzanne Fortman recently spoke about this at a conference. When talking to a room filled with university students, prospects, current customers and partners, she encouraged everyone in the room to write a personal business plan:

“I highly recommend, that even as an individual, you try writing a business plan about who you are and where you want to be.”

Suzanne packs a lot of useful wisdom, insight and guidance into this brief presentation. This quick, motivational talk only lasts around two minutes, so it’s worth taking a break from your day and checking out.  You can watch it here: