I hope you guys don't mind, but in writing my dissertation and there is no one local with Smalltalk experience to double-check some statements that I'm making.  Over the next few weeks I'd like to bounce a few off the list, mainly for a simple "thats not right".    For the first.... 

"In languages like C++ and Java the class definition is just text in a file that is compiled into a runtime, and the class definition _cannot_ be defined or changed by that runtime. In Smalltalk you develop from inside the runtime image, so the runtime manipulate the class definition like any other object of the system."
 

So what I want to check is that is it true to say you can't do that with C++ and Java  ?   

cheers -ben