[haiku-development] Re: Wishlist item: user-friendly programming languages
- From: Paul Davey <plmdvy@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: haiku-development@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011 03:20:15 +1300
On Sat, Jan 29, 2011 at 3:08 AM, Stephan Aßmus <superstippi@xxxxxx> wrote:
> Am 28.01.2011 12:02, schrieb Alex Marinko:
>>
>> I would like to call the attention of Haiku developers towards the
>> importance of having user-friendly programming languages available on
>> Haiku.
>> C++ is ok for 'professional' programmers, but what about newbie
>> programmers? Besides, let's face it: many people are put off by C++.
>>
>> More user-friendly programming languages will significantly contribute
>> to the development of the Haiku platform.
>>
>> I propose we makea list of those programming languages that are both
>> powerful AND appealing, and then debate the items on the list (pros
>> and cons, portability, etc.)
>>
>> The goal is to obtain a short list of the best candidate languages,
>> then select a couple of languages that will receive a special
>> treatment (meaning that their development on Haiku will be given
>> priority). And then, of course, concentrate our energies on them.
>>
>> What do you suggest?
>>
>> BTW, my vote goes with Lua, which is both powerful and simple.
>
> First of all, I don't mean anything I write in this mail to be
> discouraging... but there is a problem with the approach you propose:
>
> The fundamental requirement for any language besides C++ to be supported on
> Haiku is that someone does all the actual programming work. Porting the
> language/runtime to Haiku, writing all the API bindings and all that. Some
> people, like Jon Yoder, are already spending their time on this, and they do
> it in a reusable way.
>
> A discussion on what the best programming language is will a) easily go out
> of hand and as such be a big drain on resources (time spend to read or even
> reply to the mails), and b) it does not result in anything directly, since
> someone still has to do all the work to make it happen.
>
> However, it is my strong believe that a language besides C++ to become
> available on Haiku will *not* be the result of a decision making process,
> but rather the result of someone with a strong desire and motivation to get
> *his* favored language available.
>
> Don't get me wrong, I don't want to prevent any alternative programming
> languages on Haiku. I just think a discussion on which one "should" be
> preferred is pointless and even quite dangerous, as such discussions tend to
> become so huge easily. Everyone has their opinion on why their language of
> choice is best suited.
>
> Best regards,
> -Stephan
Thanks Stephan
I fully intend on getting my favoured language going on haiku when I
have time and I hope I can find a few interested souls somewhere to
help along the way. I agree that discussion on this is not a good
idea at it brings pointless heated debates which are not useful in the
end. I applaud the work of people who are seeking to make tools to
make it easier to bind the Be API from any language as this will make
everyone's lives easier. I very much doubt that C++ will be the only
language available for development on haiku and I don't think that
trying to get the community to give special support to one or the
other is a good idea as it ends up always putting someone's nose out
of joint.
Paul
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