The Next Big Language

[Jonathan M Davis]

On Monday 18 October 2010 03:40:23 Jeff Nowakowski wrote:
> On 10/18/2010 04:59 AM, Jonathan M Davis wrote:
> > Java was big long before it was open-sourced, and C# is big in spite of
> > the fact that its main compiler isn't open source and the one that is
> > (Mono) is so far behind the main one that many people totally discount
> > it.
> 
> Java and C# were pushed by big companies. Pretty much any other popular
> language these days is open source.
> 
> > I really don't understand the complaints about the lack of an open source
> > compiler for D, but then again, I've always been pro-open source and
> > anti-free software (I think that the FSF is nuts, personally), so that
> > may be why.
> 
> I really don't understand why you say you don't understand. You list the
> reasons why open source is good. Not everybody has the luxury of
> plopping down a $1000 for a compiler. People don't want vendor lock-in.
> Open source is a popular movement, and you say you're pro-open source,
> and you don't understand why D gets knocked for not being so?

I am pro-open source. I think that it's great when a project is opens source, 
but when it's not, I don't think that it's all that big a deal. Sure, it's 
better if it is, but if it isn't, that can be fine too. Of bigger concern is the 
price. A program is going to have to really beat the competition for it to be 
worth paying for. Open source does mean that it's going to be free, but it can 
be free without being open source. dmd is only partially open source, and it's 
completely free. And much as I don't want to pay for a compiler (or any 
software), a compiler is the type of software that I'm willing to pay for if 
it's necessary or if it's good enough.

Sure, it would be great if dmd were completely open source, but I don't see why 
the fact that it isn't would be all that big a deal. Other languages - such as 
Java and C# - aren't open source (or at least weren't when they debuted). People 
used them in spite of the fact that they were proprietary. And yes, having a big 
company backing them has got to help, but how many people do you honestly think 
used Java because Sun made it? Sure, the fact that it was Sun helped, but they 
chose it because of the feature set, not the company that backed it. I don't 
think that I've ever met anyone who chose a language based on who created it. 
They may have looked into it in the first place because of who created it or 
which company was backing it, but they didn't choose it because of that. I know 
plenty of people who have chosen _tools_ (like compilers and IDEs) because of 
who has created them but not anyone who has chosen the language based on that.

I definitely think that it would be a plus if D had a fully-compliant, open 
source compiler, but I don't see its lack as much of a reason not to use the 
language. The compiler is free and freely available. As long is it does it's 
job, that seems good enough to me.

- Jonathan M Davis