2026-PharoDesktopTour.pillar

! Pharo on the Desktop: A Tour of Tools and Feedback Loops

Esteban Lorenzano (esteban.lorenzano@inria.fr)

""Abstract:""

This talk is a tour of desktop applications built with Pharo: tools created to solve concrete, 
everyday problems, from personal workflows to development tasks. Rather than presenting them 
as isolated demos, the talk follows the feedback loop behind them: each application exposed 
missing pieces, rough edges, or performance limits in the Pharo ecosystem.

By building real tools for daily use, these problems became opportunities to improve the platform 
itself: UI frameworks, native integrations, tooling, usability, and the developer experience. 

The result is a practical showcase of Pharo on the desktop, but also a reflection on how 
application-building can become a path to strengthening Pharo as a whole.

""Bio:""

Esteban Lorenzano studied Computer Sciences at Universidad de Buenos Aires, and worked 
since 1994 in several object-oriented and low-level technologies, in different software 
companies, serving in various positions from programmer to senior architect. In 2007 he 
co-founded Smallworks to offer Pharo-based agile development projects.

Since 2012 he dedicated full time to developing the Pharo code and community. He works 
with the INRIA-EVREF team in Lille, France, as core developer for Pharo, being responsible 
with the coordination of new releases and the implementation and maintenance of several 
Pharo libraries.