•Getting started provides introductory material on the VA Smalltalk basic development environment, its components and concepts including the concepts that support team programming.

•Making your own applications explains the process of creating Smalltalk applications. Several examples are included.

•Inspecting and debugging code describes two important tools, the Inspector and the Debugger.

•Handling software components discusses moving, deleting, filing in, and filing out components.

•Handling team software components gives detailed information on how to handle software components in a team environment. Topics include version control, releasing, and defining lineups for multiplatform components.

•Performing team system administration includes topics such as library operations and crash recovery.

•Packaging, unloading, and analyzing code: After your application works, you package it to prepare it for distribution. This part explains several packaging strategies. This part also covers the Swapper, a high speed object loader/unloader, and tools for monitoring memory and analyzing code performance.

•Setting up, customizing, and extending the system gives you information on setting up the product and on fine-tuning your development environment.