Newsgroups: comp.lang.beta,comp.lang.lisp
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From: smcl@sytex.com (Scott McLoughlin)
Subject: Re: Comparison: Beta - Lisp
Message-ID: <NuqZsc1w165w@sytex.com>
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Organization: Sytex Access Ltd.
References: <CwFyD2.2nC@rheged.dircon.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 1994 07:04:46 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.beta:92 comp.lang.lisp:14753

simon@rheged.dircon.co.uk (Simon Brooke) writes:

> Out there in the real world, there are n (where n > 20, probably)
> people sitting in front of a Windows box for every one person sitting
> in front of a real computer. So if you write a program in Visual
> BASIC, you'll be able to sell it. You won't be able to maintain it, of
> course, but that's the customer's problem.
> 
> If you write a program in a real language for a real computer, *unless
> you can port it to Windows (or windows NT, or Windows 95, or whatever
> other dreck Bill Gates decides to unload on the uneducated next)* you
> are not going to sell it. I know. I set up a company in 1988 to
> develop knowledge engineering tools. I said to myself 'the PC isn't
> powerful enough to do what I want to do, so I'll develop tools for
> real computers'. There were other mistakes I made, but I think it was
> that one that cost me the company...

Howdy,
        Exactly. I suspect that N is much > 20 if you don't count
bank machines ;-)  Now, how do we get the "real languages" in use
on not so real Windows boxes?  What exactly _is_ the "political
economy" of commercial dynamic language implementations.
        We've got a $49 "Personal Eiffel". Is anyone out there
working in a "Personal Lisp" or "Personal Scheme" or "Personal
Dylan" or "Personal ML"????  If not -- Why Not?  Were all the
venture capitalists "burned" in the 80's AI hyped up binge? Do
the implementors have a comfy niche with Govt contracts and
research grants, so why bother?  Are these languages so hard
to implement (well) that the economics simply won't bear a
low cost implementation (with CL it's imaginable!) to price
conscious consumers?  Is the marketing channel blocked by
MS and Borland and Watcom and a few others, so product just
can't get out the door?
        Anyway, with FrameMaker selling cheap on PC's and
Interleaf coming to a Windows box near you and Intergraph
running on NT and ... All the $$ workstation software is
(1) coming to PC's and then fairly quickly thereafter
(2) dropping in price.  What about languages? If not,
why not?

ps. Sorry to hear about your company.

=============================================
Scott McLoughlin
Conscious Computing
=============================================
