Yes, that is true. That is a cost of a smaller community. But the
problem here is that your solution creates a self fulfilling
situation. If everybody who comes to Pharo is encouraged to use tools
outside of Pharo rather than using, improving and extending the tools
in Pharo. Then the community is working against itself. And the tools
never reach what the person was wanting to use.
+1
Pharo will improve more at a minimum if the people who love Pharo use
Pharo to scratch their itches and use Pharo to create the tools to
scratch their itches. If we continually look outside, we might as well
go outside. Pharo is more like an operating system/environment than a
simple language. More like Linux/Unix and C/Python, than C or Python
alone. We prefer our tools to be written native to our environment
rather than external to it. It is different that Python, Ruby, Lua,
PHP or whatever.
There are so many advantages to using tools in Pharo when using Pharo.
Since Pharo is a full environment on top of any OS, it is
exceptionally portable. Put it in a folder on a flash drive with
appropriate VMs and off you go.
It is also so easy to simply snapshot where you are to save your state
in development or exploration of a problem. So many things that are
easy in Pharo that are difficult, hard or near impossible to do
elsewhere.
If Pharo users were to drop Pillar and begin to use Pandoc, then we be
using tools that we have no control over and tools that we are likely
not to contribute to development of. If we then had an need which is
not met by the tools, then what do we do? Do we now adopt yet another
language, environment, editor, ... in order to meet that need? That is
fine for people whose preferred environment and toolset is so defined.
But that is not the preferred way in Pharo (or Smalltalk).
Pharo is a long game tool. We are happy to grow it slow, steady and
stable. We are happy to have more and more help to do so. We want to
grow Pharo and its tools. Not Pandoc, Python and their tools. They are
able to take care of themselves. I want to be using the evolving Pharo
environment and tools not just now, but in 10 years, in 20 years. I
see no other tools (outside of the Smalltalk world) that have this
kind of vision. This is best served by contributing to the environment
and the tools in Pharo. Rather than doing what might be expedient in
the here and now. It affects my here and nows in the future in a more
profitable and productive way.
+1
Now there are times when venturing outside of Pharo is required. And
when that time occurs, we need to be exceptionally well able to do so.
And I see great hope on that front.
But when we do not need to venture outside of Pharo. Those of us who
believe in the vision of Pharo are much more highly advantaged by
contributing to the tools in this community. Than to looks outside the
community for tools which my momentarily meet a need.
I think adding footnotes to Pillar is a great idea. I am not ready to
do so. I am not a qualified Pillar user yet. But when I am, I would
not hesitate to add it to Pillar and improve the tool of the
environment I prefer to use.
Just my 2 cents. It is worth what you paid for it. :)
Shalom.
Jimmie
