On Sat, 02 Jun 2007 19:51:30 -0500 Matt Campbell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Hello: > > I see that the Neko FAQ includes comparisons to various other > languages and VMs. What about the new Dynamic Language Runtime > for .NET, which Microsoft announced a little over a month ago? > Clearly, the Neko VM is much smaller than the CLR and DLR. But the > DLR will probably be much more widely available, due to its inclusion > int he upcoming Silverlight 1.1 web browser plugin. I suspect it > would be nearly impossible to get some sandboxed form of Neko widely > installed as a browser plugin, especially for IE. In addition, DLR > already has a handful of widely known languages targeting it, such as > JScript, VBX (some form of Visual Basic), Python (via IronPython), > and Ruby (via IronRuby). Still, does Neko have any advantages, > besides code size, which make it a better long-term choice than the > DLR outside the we browser? > > Thanks, > Matt > Hi Matt I don't think the browser area is one to worry about, haxe targets flash and that's good enough for now. silverlight is yet another example of MS "innovation", read catchup, which has got a lot to prove before thousands of flash developers move to it (in fact i don't know what MS are thinking, they'll never move designers from Adobe). If it were to become an important target it could be easily targeted by haxe as the DLR has an open source licence, the mono folks are taking advantage of this already. Also, IMO the jury is still out on whether even flash will displace js/dom/ajax, nevermind new tech. For neko, I think it's advantages are the fact that it has an open source license and that it's likely to remain in the same form and backwards compatible for a long time. .NET is marketing driven and Java is top heavy design by committee; IMO the tasteful benevolent dictator works better. I think it's obvious from the clever design of haxe/neko and the APIs that Nicolas has a great appreciation of what is required to get a job done. Second, I think simplicity of implementation is something that should be considered. I can only comment on the C FFI but I have found that to be incredibly intuitive to use, no jumping through hoops, and it simply exudes quality and balance. Also remember that haxe is not the only language that targets neko, I'm interested in checking out nekoml a bit more. I suspect neko is a better target for dynamic languages than the other vms, as it's dynamic by nature not strongly typed, it maybe is better to compare it with parrot, but I don't know anything about that. Lastly, I'm fed up tracking the latest hyped lock-in tech, haxe/neko I believe will do anything I want from now on, a bit like 'nix command line tools or C, I could be using haxe/neko in 20 years time, except I'll be a master craftsman, I doubt .NET will be anything resembling what it is today and we'll all still be apprentices. bd -- http://blackdog-haxe.blogspot.com/ http://www.igameware.com "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." --Jiddu Krishnamurti -- Neko : One VM to run them all (http://nekovm.org)
