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Re: Why I don't use Dylan

In article <8je1hp$53j$1@nnrp1.deja.com>, tejavu@my-deja.com wrote:

> I use Dolphin Smalltalk for Win32 programming, but have been browsing
> in my spare time for something better.  Dolphin has been improving a
> lot over the past couple of years, and I like it more and more, so I'm
> spending less and less time browsing for something better.  Dylan
> seemed very interesting, and I downloaded version 1 from Harlequin
> sometime in the past.  But I was disappointed at how slowly it compiled
> and how big the dll's needed by the executable were.  More recently, I
> downloaded version 2 from F.O. and started to give it a try, by
> following the examples and/or tutorials.  I started at the beginning,
> where it suggested starting with the Reversi example.  But when I went
> there, it said something to the effect that I had to pay money for
> libraries before I could proceed with that.  But since I'm just
> browsing for something better than Smalltalk, I'm not ready to pay
> money for it yet.  Especially since Smalltalk keeps improving, and it
> starts to seem like I will get the best by simply staying with
> Smalltalk while it continues to improve.
> 
> And I think Dylan may gradually fade away, because it might not have
> enough support to ever get critical mass.  Critical mass is what makes
> Java useful in spite of how bad a language it is.  It causes the
> vendors to compete against each other to provide the best tools at the
> lowest prices, and the biggest and most functional libraries.
> 
> It's sad, because Dylan seemed almost like the ultimate programming
> language, and I had high hopes for it.  It's too bad the best
> programming language designers tend to suck so badly at promoting their
> products.
> 
> But even though I have lost a lot of my interest in Dylan, I still do
> discuss it sometimes, and sometimes suggest to other programmers that
> it might be worth trying, especially if they're willing to pay money to
> try it.  One thing I would like to know is how well it does in
> benchmarks against LispWorks, because that question came up in a recent
> discussion.


You can try all the libraries for, like, 30 days without paying a cent.

And critical mass is created by people using the product.  Even Java 
started from nothing.  There's probably a good quote about that by 
someone famous...
References: