| Rainer Joswig 2007-07-30, 4:14 am |
| In article <7xbqduy077.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com>,
Paul Rubin <http://phr.cx@NOSPAM.invalid> wrote:
> Raffael Cavallaro <raffaelcavallaro@pas-d'espam-s'il-vous-plait-mac.com> writes:
>
> Are there are a lot of these?
Are there a 'lot' Lisp programmers? A 'lot' SFPL programmers?
>
>
> I don't know if I'd dignify the benefits of ML-style static typing
> with a fancy term like "limited correctness proof".
But you don't believe in arguments like: 'since I'm using
static types my programs are suddenly correct when
I get the compiler to compile the code without errors'?
These are the arguments I often read from static typing
proponents.
> I'd say something
> more like: language-verified type consistency gives the program
> something like a rigid skeleton on which to build its functionality.
> Lisp and Python programs have always evoked sort of a flopping,
> "invertebrate" sensation for me. Alan Perlis's SICP foreword famously
> said:
>
> Pascal is for building pyramids -- imposing, breathtaking, static
> structures built by armies pushing heavy blocks into place. Lisp is
> for building organisms -- imposing, breathtaking, dynamic structures
> built by squads fitting fluctuating myriads of simpler organisms into
> place.
>
> ML-like languages, I like to imagine, aim for something in the middle:
> graceful spires and leaping archways built on solid foundations
> through precise engineering.
>
>
> clf is mostly a theory discussion group, I think. Lisp has been
> around a long time and has more users, and languages like CL have a
> lot more "creature comforts" (e.g. debugging environments, language
> features like keyword args) than the ML family. But really, CL and
> even Scheme are 1970's languages, and things have been happening since
> then.
ML is from when? Haskell is from when? The improvement
of ML over time is also only a small delta of features.
I just read the web page of Successor ML and was not
overwhelmed in terms of value what it means for
programmers.
--
http://lispm.dyndns.org
|