And then let the environment run headless and export a language server and debugging API that lets me get most the practical benefit without having to leave my favorite editor, and also integrates more easily with existing build tools, stuff like that. Right now, Smalltalk effectively wants to either be the prima ballerina, or have no part in the production. That's a real difficult line to try to hold in the modern software landscape.
That said, it's still a great language, and one of those rare ones that I'd encourage everyone to learn, because it will change the way you think about programming.
"Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of the Resilient Smalltalk Embedded Platform"
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.84...
Already, back in 1988 —
"The fact that Smalltalk proved to be an excellent prototyping tool should not be surprising, as Smalltalk’s developers had themselves used the system in this manner. … While we have have found the Smalltalk language a very effective tool for building complex systems, we believe it is currently unrealistic to expect that an excellent rapid prototyping system can also be an excellent application delivery system. If Smalltalk is to be widely used to develop production applications, then the language, its development environment, and its implementations need to be re-engineered for that purpose."
"An Overview of Modular Smalltalk"
https://static.miraheze.org/triplescriptswiki/4/49/Wirfs-Bro...