"The current message expression syntax of Objective-C is based on Smalltalk. This syntax is sometimes referred to as the classic syntax. There is a proposal to create a modern syntax for message expressions based on Java and C , because of its greater familiarity. This also is a step toward enabling developers to use either Java or Objective-C to access the libraries. You should be aware as you study Objective-C that the message expression syntax is likely to change in the Rhapsody release to the modern syntax."