I can't see how something like Pharo Smalltalk is anything near something like Java unless you're comparing it to C++. Same thing with .NET. Those tools are all

I can't see how something like Pharo Smalltalk is anything near something like Java unless you're comparing it to C++. Same thing with .NET. Those tools are all fine in their own way (high performance, extremely fine tuned garbage collectors, and extremely large libraries), but I can't see them being as productive once you're up to speed.