Re:Why I rewrote my Rust keyboard firmware in Zig: consisten...
by michaelcampbell on Sunday March 07, 2021 @09:17AM
(#26375989)
Why does a cool thing seem less cool when/if you realize something else is also cool?
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Re:Why I rewrote my Rust keyboard firmware in Zig: consisten...
by belval on Sunday March 07, 2021 @10:04AM
(#26376328)
Because if lisp has it then we are not moving forward so much as people are creating new languages with the same features.
Don't know if that actually applies to Zig/D, but that's how I read it.
Re:Why I rewrote my Rust keyboard firmware in Zig: consisten...
by lhorie on Sunday March 07, 2021 @01:58PM
(#26378605)
The revolutionary thing about lisp macros was that you could freely manipulate code as data.
What zig offers is completely different: it allows you freely manipulate types as data, while disallowing the ability to manipulate syntax.
Re:Why I rewrote my Rust keyboard firmware in Zig: consisten...
by cle on Sunday March 07, 2021 @10:21AM
(#26376490)
It’s a major step forward if it fixes one of the huge problems with Lisps: adoption.
Re:Why I rewrote my Rust keyboard firmware in Zig: consisten...
by Hizonner on Sunday March 07, 2021 @10:49AM
(#26376776)
If the problem is that languages don't have enough adoption, then spreading people out over even more languages is the opposite of useful.
Re:Why I rewrote my Rust keyboard firmware in Zig: consisten...
by cle on Sunday March 07, 2021 @03:15PM
(#26379363)
Depends on what you think the cause of the lack of adoption is. If you think it can be fixed by doubling down on existing languages, then sure. But I don't know if that's addressing the cause (because I don't know the cause).
I use Lisps all the time and love them. But I recognize that most people don't like them. At some point we have to meet people where they are, if we want to have broad impact. Ideas on their own aren't good enough, they need to be packaged up in the right way, approachable to the right people, marketed appropriately, etc. The tech itself is just a small part of what it takes for an idea to create impact.