What Makes A Programming Language Good

[Russel Winder]

I missed a lot of this thread and coming in part way through may miss
lots of past nuances, or even major facts.

On Thu, 2011-01-20 at 10:19 +0100, Gour wrote:
> On Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:40:49 +0100
> Jacob Carlborg <doob at me.com> wrote:
> 
> > 1. it uses python, yet another dependency
> 
> True, but it brings more features over e.g. cmake 'cause you have full
> language on disposal.

Waf and SCons (both Python based) are top of the pile in the C/C
++/Fortran/LaTeX build game, with CMake a far back third and everything
else failing to finish.

In the Java/Scala/Groovy/Clojure build game Gradle beats Maven beats
Gant beats Ant, for the reason that Groovy beats XML as a build
specification language.

Internal DSLs using dynamic languages just win in this game.

(Though the Scala crew are trying to convince people that SBT, a build
tool written such that you use Scala code to specify the build is good.
It is a priori but it has some really critical negative design issues.)

> > 2. it seems complicated
> 
> Well, build systems are complex... ;)

Definitely.  Well at least for anything other than trivial projects
anyway.  The trick is to make it as easy as possible to specify the
complexity easily and comprehensibly.  Make did this in 1978, but is not
now the tool of choice.  Autotools was an heroic attempt to do something
based on Make.  CMake likewise.  SCons, Waf, and Gradle are currently
the tools of choice.
 
-- 
Russel.
=============================================================================
Dr Russel Winder      t: +44 20 7585 2200   voip: sip:russel.winder at ekiga.net
41 Buckmaster Road    m: +44 7770 465 077   xmpp: russel at russel.org.uk
London SW11 1EN, UK   w: www.russel.org.uk  skype: russel_winder
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 198 bytes
Desc: This is a digitally signed message part
URL: <http://lists.puremagic.com/pipermail/digitalmars-d/attachments/20110120/b070a5d2/attachment.pgp>