Whitespace as syntax (was Re: Python Rocks!)

[Neel Krishnaswami]

Bijan Parsia <bparsia at email.unc.edu> wrote:
> 
> But seriously, the *size* of the Squeak base is rather large. The
> biggest reasons for not using it as a drop in replacement for Python or
> Perl is that 1) it's not *structured* to be a drop in replacement for
> Python or Perl, and 2) the *content* of it's class library doesn't (yet)
> cover a lot of things that people use Python and Perl for (especially on
> the *nix size of things).
>
> One large advantage that both Perl and Python have is that they fit in
> well with a fairly common mindset that stems from certain set
> programming/working environments. This is more or less explicit in their
> designs. Squeak and Smalltalk are not a smooth fit for that mindset, so
> really mastering them typically requires a shift in deeply held habits.

Only-half-a-joke: I think that Squeak's the biggest competitor not to
Python, but GNOME and KDE -- the world just hasn't realized it yet.
 
> I think this is generally true for Lisps as well.

Less so, I think. For Common Lisp this is true, since it has
development environments and coding habits strongly reminiscent of the
ST style, but most Scheme implementations work more or less like any
other Unix scripting language. (There are some noble exceptions, like
DrScheme from Rice, but in general this is true I think.)

And Dylan was designed from the start to be able to fit in either
mold. The Gwydion compiler is basically the standard Unix compiler,
but the Functional Developer environment (as well as the Apple release
that preceded it) were very sophisticated dev environments.


Neel