Thank you for writing this. On Sat, Jul 20, 2019 at 11:49 AM Matthew Flatt <mfl...@cs.utah.edu> wrote:
> Possible Language Changes > ------------------------- > > The Racket community has long discussed possibilities for Racket2. Here > are a few potential changes from the wish list: I like this list of changes. I'd feel great about Racket 2 if it doubled down on removing concrete types in favor of interfaces / abstract types. I'd feel great about Racket 2 if pattern matching was core, and I didn't have to think about `case-lambda` and friends. I'd feel great about structures / records if I didn't have a million different options when defining them. I'd feel great about Racket 2 if we introduced "arc"-like accessors, and conveniences that removed the need for nested function calls (e.g. `(foo-name afoo)` vs `afoo.name`)... I'd feel great about Racket 2 if it maintained the curation and simplicity of R*RS Scheme, but with modern conveniences that reduced keystrokes and line width without giving up expressivity. > Surface Syntax > -------------- > > You won't find a wish for significant changes the Racket surface > syntax anywhere on the Racket2 wish list. Nevertheless, I've suggested > tacking it on. I'm in favor of a different syntax if it doesn't add new semantics along with it. I'm also in favor of an s-expression based syntax that uses less parens all together. In other words, I think a way to proceed might be to have syntax be actually surface, and completely inter-changeable, such that if I prefer s-expressions, Dr Racket allows me to edit that way. If I prefer an infix representation, Dr Racket can read the s-expressions and convert it to infix, and convert it back on save (Or the other way around depending on the code base preferences). As Lispers we've all argued that surface syntax doesn't matter for years, trying to get people to not see our choices as "Lots of Infuriating Stupid Parentheses." So, why not go all in on this and show that we really believe it? I realize I'm asking for a pony, _and_ a horse... -- http://www.apgwoz.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Racket Users" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to racket-users+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/racket-users/CADoGzscCM%3D53pBq5tVvxhVMiUc4A3bJocKo5RL3qtmpzNdJoAA%40mail.gmail.com.
