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From: mbrodeur@dolphin (Michael Brodeur)
Subject: Re: Why you should not use Tcl
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Date: Wed, 28 Sep 1994 17:17:37 GMT
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Richard Stallman (rms@gnu.ai.mit.edu) wrote:

: 		     Why you should not use Tcl
: 			Richard Stallman, GNU Project


: For these reasons, the GNU project is not going to use Tcl in GNU
: software.  Instead we want to provide two languages, similar in
: semantics but with different syntaxes.  One will be Lisp-like, and one
: will have a more traditional algebraic syntax.  Both will provide
: useful data types such as structures and arrays.  The former will
: provide a simple syntax that hackers like; the latter will offer
: non-hackers a syntax that they are more comfortable with.

I think this is a key and telling statement.  In the grand GNU tradition,
product intentions are announced long before anything tangible is
available.  Note that he didn't say: "will be available soon" or "is in
alpha test now" or anything of the sort.  Those who have been around for
a while will remember what has come before in this vein: Emacs 19 and Hurd.
In each case people got tired of waiting and came up with solutions in
the interim (Epoch/Xemacs and Linux).

It would even have been more interesting if RMS had suggested that Perl
would be the scripting language for Hurd.

Finally, I'd like to note for the record that Tcl is avaiable NOW, is
a proven (although admittedly flawed) technology which has a definite
place in the software world.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Brodeur                        | "The Eagle has landed." 
mbrodeur@cvbnet.cv.com                 |      Heard from Earth's moon
Computervision Corporation             |      July 20, 1969
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