"I disagree here. As an example, Android is switching its JIT runtime for an AOT one, because with JIT the performance (mostly related with UI perception) is slower than its iOS counterpart even when running on better hardware.
Most of the popular apps use native multithreading intensively to maximize responsiveness. Pharo (as an organization) can't compete with that level of optimization, it doesn't have the budget for it. " Its not about competition, its about "hey guys may have a tiny slice of the cake ? I can ? thanks I will be here in my corner" Also the more powerful the hardware will become the less need would be to have true multithreading. I am not saying its very important but lets face it even on a single core you can do pretty amazing stuff. Right now mobile devices are quite slow even for basic stuff but the hardware only gets faster. "Do you really want to have Pharo (for development) in a 5" screen? Or even in a 10" tablet? Have you tried using it? I did, and played around for a while. It was impressive that it ran bit identically. But that's all. " As I said you can connect your mobile device to any monitor you want, you want 20'' fine , 30'' sure, 40'' why not , 1000'' oh yeah as long it has an hdmi port. The bottom line is that almost everyone will have a smartphone phone . Is this a market as a pharo developer you want to tap in ? It already has happened in USA and most of Europe , even here in Greece with big economical crisis people buy mainly smartphones and some even spend substantial amounts. iPhones actually are pretty popular here too. "I'm not aware of a trend to have IntelliJ/Eclipse and/or XCode running on mobile devices, even when there is less "technology impedance" between their programming language and the supporting platform." This is why I said we are not there yet, but is getting there. For example there is an Emacs port , though it requires external keyboard. Its not that it cannot be done, its more about moving a very big code base takes a lot of time and effort. But once again remember that its about the users not the developers. Developer did not move to the web because they like, actually most people I have talked to dislike and some even hate it. But its a very big market and a market with a very solid future in a world with economic uncertainty. 4 years ago, I remember arguing in music forums that music mobile apps will become serious tools even for professionals, back when ipad was first released, many people laughed at me, other though it was a possibility , some were sceptical . I was almost certain. 4 years later here we are, loads of music apps on mobile devices and their even artists that use solely mobile devices for music production with some help from Dekstops toos for final touches. What will happen in the next 4 years ? I was not successful trying Pharo , I tried Squeak but the multitouch was problematic as hell. Pharo claims "its modern" , but for me no language or software can claim that unless its taps to the mobile market. Unless the software is so demanding that it needs loads of raw performance that a mobile device cannot offer. But even that last front will slowly fall. Its not that Desktops will not be the fastest / most powerful option but mobile devices will become loads more powerful. Imagine what will happen if the smartphone of the future is 1000 times more powerful lets say in 30 years , imagine what you could do with that technology. Should Pharo see 30 years in the future ? If it has learned anything from the mistakes of Smalltalk , it should. About the cloud option, I have to say I am not a huge believer in cloud technology. I think for developed countries its a very good solution BUT many countries out there, including mine, have extremely unreliable internet connections. Browsers have seen this need and loads of options for offline storage has been offered, though it has become quite a confusing mess. So yeah cloud with offline storage is a good recipe , Pharo on the cloud is definetly a good option. Pharo + Amber is something I have recommended many times. So yes I agree with you there, but that does not make me dislike the idea of a VM on android and iOS. Why ? because web technology is a huge pile of mess, its a pain in the ass. Are Amber people going to wrap all this technology for us to make it easier to use ? probably not. So I still like to fully use Pharo. But Amber is a very good option too. So yes I think Pharo on mobile devices, however that happens is not the near future Pharo but its absolutely the distant future.
