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Re: C# is not Dylan (was: Re: C# : The new language from M$)
On Mon, 3 Jul 2000, Rob Myers wrote:
> > From: Brian Rogoff <bpr@shell5.ba.best.com>
> > Subject: Re: C# is not Dylan (was: Re: C# : The new language from M$)
> >
> > My biggest gripe right now is the lack of implementations. ... the free one is
> a bit too heavyweight.
>
> If you have a Mac, there's a CodeWarrior plugin that makes life with d2c a
> lot easier, and even on UNIX the biggest step to using d2c is installation.
I think you misunderstand when I say "heavyweight". Even for small
programs d2c takes a relatively long time to run, and generates huge
executables. Surely dynamic linking should be able to reduce the size
of the executables but this situation doesn't inspire confidence.
I'm comparing with OCaml, which as I stated earlier, was a breeze to
install from source on Unix, and runs amazingly fast, even when generating
optimized code. I actually use OCaml at work for production code; this
ease-of-installation/speed-of-compilation/speed-and-size-of-generated-code
combination is what I mean by "lightweight".
I think its implementors were able to get there by going the route of
bytecode compilation, and only later to build an optimizing native code
compiler. The other compilers I have used which go the "compile to
C" route, Sather and Mercury, also seem to be rather heavyweight. Mercury
at least has an easy (but very slow) install and generates amazingly small
executables. I haven't used Gambit-C or Bigloo, maybe these do better.
> If you use make-dylan-app and work with the generated code, you just need to
> call make to compile.
> Please don't be put off by how industrial-strength d2c has been designed to
> be, it's really very easy to get started with. The Gwydion Maintainers are
> very happy to answer queries and provide help, and always listen to
> constructive suggestions (and offers of assistance :-).
Sure, I installed it easily on Linux as an RPM, and I can use it to play.
I wouldn't try to introduce it at work, even though I like the language.
-- Brian
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