Website message overhaul

[Andrei Alexandrescu]

On 11/15/11 11:51 AM, Peter Alexander wrote:
> On 15/11/11 1:25 PM, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
>> On 11/15/11 12:37 AM, Peter Alexander wrote:
>>> The current site is a wall of text that takes too long to tell me *what*
>>> D is. There needs to be some sort of "D at a glance" that explains what
>>> the language is without going into details.
>>
>> "The D programming language. Modern convenience. Multi-paradigm power.
>> Native efficiency."
>>
>> It's right there at the top in big letters.
>>
>>
>> Andrei
>
> I don't feel that those few words adequately introduce D.
>
> If a friend asked you what the D programming language was, you wouldn't
> reply with that headline, nor would you reply with several paragraphs of
> key features. You'd probably say something like
>
> "D is statically typed, natively compiled language with type deduction,
> automatic memory management, and clean C-family syntax. It focuses on
> pragmatism, safety, and powerful abstractions."
>
> You then might go on to list some other more specific features like
> metaprogramming, compile speeds, its approach to concurrency etc. That
> would probably be better on another page though.
>
> I just feel like that page is desperately trying to sell D, rather than
> just humbly introducing it and letting the language speak for itself.

I don't think "letting the language speak for itself" works. People who 
are willing to get to that point are already interested. The challenge 
is having someone with only a fleeting curiosity get a quick overview of 
why they should become interested. We want to send a clear and crisp 
message about D. This is not about being humble vs. arrogant or whatnot.

One very disingenuous argument I've seen is "as you use the language, 
you'll notice how you need features X and Y and don't feel the absence 
of Z". Nobody wants to spend months using a language to confirm or 
infirm such a hypothesis.

 From your message I distinguish eight keyphrases:

- statically typed
- natively compiled
- type deduction
- automatic memory management
- C-family syntax
- pragmatism
- safety
- powerful abstractions

These are accurate, but eight is a lot of'em. How would you compress 
them in three powerful messages?


Andrei