Newsgroups: comp.lang.dylan
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From: t.griffith@applelink.apple.com (Tague Griffith)
Subject: Re: Dylan Implementations
Sender: news@gallant.apple.com
Message-ID: <t.griffith-2109941101010001@17.202.32.50>
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 1994 19:01:01 GMT
References: <XVBZsc1w165w@sytex.com>
Organization: ISSE - Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 39

In article <XVBZsc1w165w@sytex.com>, smcl@sytex.com (Scott McLoughlin) asketh:

--        What is actually going on with Dylan?  Are we going to
--see: Inexpensive, Commercial implementations for Popular Desktop
--operating systems -- Windows,Chicago,Mac,OS/2 ? In other words,
--the kind of thing we can "learn at home" and/or "evaluate at
--work".  Are there multiple vendors working on the thing, so that
--companies don't view the language as "proprietary".

Currently Apple's group is working on an Apple Dylan Development
Environment.  I have to say that the development environment is very
impressive.  Currently Apple Dylan generates 68k code, and there are plans
for a PPC version.

There is also MINDY, Thomas, MacMarlais from various different development
groups outside of Apple.  I'm not sure about the Windows, OS/2 side of
things.  Realize also that this is a relatively new language and it will
take time for it to be adopted.

--        I'm _not_ being "skeptical" or asking "rhetorical
--questions". I want to understand more about the "political
--economy" of dynamic languages. If the answer is "Yes" to the
--above questions, I'd like to here how this is possible with
--Dylan even though these possibilities never actualized with
--say Scheme or Common Lisp. 

I think the reason that Scheme & Common Lisp never became popular w/
companies is that they were difficult to interface w/ C and Pascal. Also,
I've never seen a LISP with a method for control dynamism in the
language.  (Eliminate it where it is not necessary, to improve 
performance, that kind of thing) Also, most companies have a large,
established base of code and the "new" language you want to use always
needs to fit seemlessly into that otherwise the "legacy" languge will win.

-- 
Tague Griffith                     | My Mac is smiling at me again,
Internation System Software        | I hate that.  Never trust a 
T.GRIFFITH@applelink.apple.com     | computer that smiles.
tague@xenon.stanford.edu           |
