[Python-Dev] Parrot -- should life imitate satire?

[Paul Prescod]

Guido van Rossum wrote:
> 
> > Also, the .NET CLR is standardized at ECMA so we could (at least in
> > theory!) go to the meetings and try to influence version 2.
> 
> Notice the addition "in theory".  In practice, this is BS.

It depends on the rules and politics of each particular standards group.
It is fundamentally a social activity. It also depends how much effort
you are willing to put into promoting your cause. Sam Ruby is chair of
the ECMA CLI group. He is a big scripting language fan. 

http://www2.hursley.ibm.com/tc39/

Also note the presence of Mike Cowlishaw of REXX fame and Dave Raggett
of the W3C.

Working within a standards body is a gamble. It can pay off big or it
can completely fail. We might find Microsoft our strongest ally -- they
have always been interested in having the scripting languages work well
on their platforms. They would hate to give programmers to have an
excuse to stick to Unix or the JVM.

I don't personally know enough about this particular circumstance to
know whether there is any possibility of significantly influencing
version 2 or not. Maybe the gamble isn't worth the effort. But I
wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.
-- 
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