killer App for D? (was: State of D on iOS/Android)

[J Arrizza]

On Sat, Jan 28, 2012 at 6:02 PM, Alex Rønne Petersen <xtzgzorex at gmail.com>wrote:

> In fact, D already runs on Android if you do some tweaks to the GDC build.
> I've managed to get D apps running on both a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and an Efika
> MX.
>
>> I think that's pushing it. I see no reason to include something that
>> domain and target specific in the standard library.
>
>

> The concept of a cross-platform UI is broken. Put your logic in a library
>> and develop native UIs for each platform you wish to support. It is the
>> only way to give users the experience they expect and want.
>
>
Interesting response.

Look at the IQ bell curve. Now follow this:

- to be popular is to widen the appeal of D to 2 sigmas of that curve.
- to widen the appeal is to make D easy enough for 95% of the
developer population to use it without any hassle
- "no hassle" is equivalent to make it simple enough for the farthest left
hand side of the curve.
- and that means dead simple to install, dead simple to code in, dead
simple to determine and fix when it goes wrong, dead simple to get it
working on any OS they are used to working on.
- that means there is no "that's pushing it" or "concept is broken" or "all
you have to do is some tweaks" or any other rationalization. If they need
it, they get it. Period.


In short, to make D popular is a hell of a lot more work.  Samuel Johnson
said "I did not have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a
long one instead." Paraphrase that for D.

So another, better, question: Do you -- we -- want to make D a popular
language or not?

If not, that implies one set of development and architectural strategies.
 If yes, it implies another set. The two sets have some but little
intersection. And that means you have to choose the end goal you want now
and, once chosen, you have to stick to it.

John
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