Pharo 7.0, “the most significant release yet” in the words of the Pharo project team, was released January 22, bringing a new launcher, an improved Git client, an IoT toolkit, and 64-bit versions for Linux and MacOS. A 64-bit version for Windows is available in a technical preview.
Emphasizing simplicity and immediate feedback, Smalltalk-like Pharo is billed as a minimal, reflective object language. The 64-bit version of Pharo 7.0 improves performance and stability and is recommended for Linux and MacOS developers.
Pharo 7.0 also offers a new version of the Pharo Launcher tool for managing distributions and accessing Jenkins builds. A new build process, meanwhile, supports full bootstrap from sources, enabling production to specific micro-images. Also new and improved in Pharo 7.0:
- An improved version of the Iceberg Git client, which is the default CMS.
- PharoThings, tools for building Internet of Things applications in small devices.
- An improved UnifiedFFI (unified foreign function interface), which now works properly on 64-bit Windows.
- Calypso replaces Nautilus as the new system browser, offering remote capabilities and advanced browsing capabilities.
Pharo features an IDE, library, and a set of external packages. Coding is also supported in the debugger, which allows developers to step through code, create methods, and restart the execution of methods. Pharo is intended to be simple to use and provides immediate feedback.
You can download the Pharo Launcher tool, which provides a complete working environment, from pharo.org.