On Wednesday, 7 September 2016 at 15:04:38 UTC, jmh530 wrote:
On Wednesday, 7 September 2016 at 11:37:44 UTC, Russel Winder
wrote:
I really don't see what's not working in this.
Trying to get new D users from Python users is the main
problem.
I came to D from Python/R/Matlab. The biggest issue for me
wasn't error messages so much as the lack of good libraries for
a lot of things.
Nevertheless, the longer I've been using D, the more I agree
that there could be some improvements in D's error messages.
Andre had posted about the Sparrow language a while back
https://forum.dlang.org/thread/ne3265$uef$1...@digitalmars.com?page=1
He liked their use of concepts. I think at a minimum it would
enable better error messages.
I too come from the R world and I have been playing the game of
flitting between R and C++; using C++ (through RCpp) to speed up
slow things in R for some time and I have been looking for a
better solution.
For some time I have been considering a problem to do with
creating tables with unbounded types, one of the failed attempts
is here:
https://forum.dlang.org/thread/gdjaoxypicsxlfvzw...@forum.dlang.org?page=1
I then exchanged emails with Lucian, Sparrows creator and he very
quickly and simply outlined the solution to the problem.
Thereafter I read his PhD thesis - one of the most informative
texts in computer science I have read and very well written.
At the moment, there are lots of languages attempting to solve
the dynamic-static loop, being able to have features inherent in
dynamic programming languages, while keeping the safety and
performance that comes with a static compiled programming
language, and then doing so in a language that doesn't cause your
brain to bleed. The "One language to rule them all" motif of
Julia has hit the rocks; one reason is because they now realize
that their language is being held back because the compiler
cannot infer certain types for example:
http://www.johnmyleswhite.com/notebook/2015/11/28/why-julias-dataframes-are-still-slow/
A language that can create arbitrary complex programs is the kind
of thing that changes the world. I don't think D should be left
out and should take Sparrow very seriously indeed.
