Cincom Smalltalk Digest: February Edition
Welcome to the February 2023 edition of the Cincom Smalltalk™ Digest. In this edition, we will highlight:
CUSTOMERS and PARTNERS
- What Is the Importance of Simplicity for Customers and Partners?
- A Simple Way to Reach Cincom Smalltalk Support
BEGINNERS, FREELANCERS and DEVELOPERS
- What Can Cincom Smalltalk Do for You?
- Calculating Relationships between Numbers in Cincom Smalltalk
- Programming Tips: Ideas for Simplifying Your Code
- What Technique Makes Sharing, Moving or Creating a Backup File of Your Code Simple?
- A Way to Take Advantage of the Tech Sector Job Growth
CUSTOMERS and PARTNERS
What Is the Importance of Simplicity for Customers and Partners?
A key finding from multiple surveys of over 7,000 consumers, and interviews with hundreds of marketing executives was published in the Harvard Business Review. This study looked at what makes consumers “sticky,” or what motivates them to buy a product, remain loyal to it and recommend it to others.
According to Patrick Spenner and Karen Freeman in “To Keep Your Customers, Keep It Simple,”
“The single biggest driver of stickiness, by far, was ‘decision simplicity’—what consumers want from companies is, simply, ‘simplicity’.”
“Simplification Through Innovation®” is a Cincom motto that also applies to Cincom Smalltalk. Our customers and partners recognize and value the low risk, quick return on investment (ROI), and value Cincom Smalltalk adds to their businesses.
As a Cincom Smalltalk customer or partner, you have already experienced the product’s productivity and simplicity. What about your company? Are you getting the most out of your relationship with Cincom? Allow our experienced Services team to simplify complexities in order to increase your profitability and success while adding more value to your business.
Our team can help with:
- Product Upgrades
- Migrations
- Troubleshooting
- Mentoring
- Performance Enhancements
- Proofs of Concept
Is this something you’re interested in? See more information and discover how we can help you simply your complexities, here.
A Simple Way to Reach Cincom Smalltalk Support
For quick access to Cincom Smalltalk Support, please take note of this list:
- Visit Cincom SupportWeb® for immediate support.
- Email HelpNA@cincom.com and EuroTSC@cincom.com to file new support cases.
Reach out to the Cincom Smalltalk Product Team at CSSTARTeam@cincom.com if you have any further questions or comments.
Additional Links:
- Cincom Support Levels
- Cincom Smalltalk Resolutions Portal
BEGINNERS, FREELANCERS and DEVELOPERS
What Can Cincom Smalltalk Do for You?
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. Cincom Smalltalk is a commercial Smalltalk option for application development, software, web applications, development tools and deployment.
Cincom Smalltalk adds value and simplicity to application development software, web application development tools and deployment environments. Cincom® ObjectStudio® is an ideal solution for developing custom applications for Windows® while Cincom® VisualWorks® is the ideal solution for enterprise-level, multilingual, cross-platform, custom application development.
The “Pearls of Smalltalk” show various ways Cincom Smalltalk can help you develop software better:
- Productivity – In studies and comparisons, Cincom Smalltalk is consistently more productive than any other mainstream language.
- Simplicity – The language design is simple, consistent and efficient, allowing users to get more done with less. This means fewer problems and less maintenance for our users. It also means that users can get their arms around more complex problems.
- Pioneering – From Smalltalk’s heritage at the legendary PARC labs to modern development techniques, Cincom Smalltalk’s technology has and is setting standards. From the graphical user interface to XP/Agile development, people who use our technology are continually making or influencing software development.
- Portability – Cincom Smalltalk is a leader in platform portability, which minimizes risk and protects the user’s development investment while getting the platform flexibility they need for their applications.
- Broad Application Flexibility – Cincom Smalltalk has proven successes with Client, Client/Server, Web Browser, Web Server and Distributed applications.
- Enjoyment – Developers who use our technology get more done and enjoy doing it. Better morale leads to better employee retention.
If you are interested in learning more about how Cincom Smalltalk can simplify things for your business or in your application development, please send an email to the Cincom Smalltalk Product Team at CSSTARTeam@cincom.com.
Calculating Relationships between Numbers in Cincom Smalltalk
Quantitative Analysis (QA) is a type of analysis that uses mathematical and statistical modeling, measurement and research to understand behavior. We have a video series on Quantitative Analysis that walks you through how to build algorithms and interactive charts using Cincom Smalltalk.
The Pearson Correlation Coefficient allows us to quantify the strength of the relationship between two number arrays. What can you do with it?
- Test a hypothesis about a numerical relationship.
- Create a predictive model.
- Find outliers.
- Evaluate the reliability of measurement instruments.
Other examples in which you could test correlation include:
- Example 1: height vs. weight
- Example 2: temperature vs. ice cream sales
Watch this Quant Gem below, or click here: https://youtu.be/mVkgjBe5PFs
This screencast is part of the Quantitative Gems screencast series and also part of the Techniques Series, which shows various techniques from how to accomplish or solve different tasks such as automating image build to creating a custom parser.
If you have questions, comments or ideas for other Smalltalk examples or suggestions for future Hidden Gems, please send an email to the Cincom Smalltalk Product Team at CSSTARTeam@cincom.com.
Programming Tips: Ideas for Simplifying Your Code
If you are looking for programming tips and ideas for simplifying your code, this screencast will give some quick ideas and tips to simplify your Smalltalk code. Some of the ideas may be obvious—much like a doctor saying to “eat healthy and exercise.” But the results can be profoundly positive, so it may be a reminder to use them, or ideally, we give you some new techniques.
Watch this Hidden Gem below, or click here: https://youtu.be/moP5r-k8ymA
This screencast is part of the Techniques Series that shows various techniques for accomplishing or solving different tasks using Cincom Smalltalk.
- To view the entire collection of Hidden Gem screencasts, check out our video library here.
What Technique Makes Sharing, Moving or Creating a Backup File of Your Code Simple?
SQLite is a small, fast and reliable relational database that is easy to use. Using Store with SQLite is a convenient format for sharing or moving Smalltalk code or creating a backup file of your code.
Often on Hidden Gems screencasts, we say “it is easy, once you know how,” and “Hidden Gems: SQLite and Store” is a great example of this. The minimal installation we need is simple, but not obvious. Enjoy this useful technique!
Watch this Hidden Gem below, or click here: https://youtu.be/Qhb2WzfJAZA
A Way to Take Advantage of the Tech Sector Job Growth
According to Skillcrush.com, the tech sector is expanding in 2023, despite the mass layoffs isolated to the five companies of Big Tech! The CompTIA’s Tech Jobs Report shows that tech companies added 20,700 workers in October 2022, marking the 23rd consecutive month of job growth!
Furthermore, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2022 that employment in the computer and information technology sector is expected to grow 15% between 2021 and 2031.
What better time to consider your own career!
If you are a software engineer who wants to live wherever you want and take your rewarding career with you, Cincom could be the place for you! Cincom Smalltalk is seeking several developers to join its global development team in order to advance Cincom Smalltalk’s development.
Outdoor cyclists, photographers, coffee lovers, tea connoisseurs, whisky connoisseurs, volunteers, yogis, Peloton members, chanters, people who sail the seven seas, and those who climb the highest mountains are among us. We have friendly employees, people with young children, people who whisk their children off to the next room to virtually attend academic programs, and people who are ready to travel the world for vacation and, in some cases, code software in Smalltalk while at home or traveling the world. On our team, you might run into a friend or another member of your adventure race crew!
We have several new job openings, and some of the required skills are as follows:
- Language design that involves Smalltalk
- Background in developing quality Smalltalk code and delivering product feature documentation
- A passion for and experience with Smalltalk (Cincom Smalltalk experience a plus)
- Significant C experience
- Experience with assembly language, possibly JIT, is a plus.
- Experience with API calls and platform libraries on various operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix)
- Graphical User Interface (GUI) experience
Additionally, problem-solving skills and a can-do attitude are essential, as well as the ability to work individually and in a distributed team environment.
Note: The Cincom Smalltalk Software Development Team is a FULLY REMOTE TEAM that values diversity. We provide a competitive base salary as well as benefits.
If you are a software engineer interested in joining a product group that is ready to share Smalltalk with the world through clean code, cool campaigns, and much more, please send your resume/CV and cover letter, as well as salary requirements, to Suzanne Fortman.