I find this resistance to the Smalltalk environment a bit puzzling. It's really fundamentally no different from modern IDEs and virtual machine runtimes such as

I find this resistance to the Smalltalk environment a bit puzzling. It's really fundamentally no different from modern IDEs and virtual machine runtimes such as JVM. The key differentiator is the fact that every object in the Smalltalk environment is "live" and can be examined and altered at will. One of the great benefits from this fallout is the powerful debugger. Rather than whining about how Smalltalk doesn't play well with existing file-based tooling, we should focus on improving and extending the tooling for the Smalltalk environment. We have an opportunity here to define the future. Smalltalk is a break from the traditional way of doing things (the use of files and folders is positively antediluvian!). It's truly innovative. The transition may incur some cost and pain now, but positive change is never free. If you argue we should wait for a more opportune time, the question is, "If not now, then when?" What exactly are we waiting for? If you argue we should never change, files and folders are perfect forever and ever, then I say we are stuck in a rut. Software engineering is off the rails.