Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc,gnu.misc.discuss,comp.lang.scheme,comp.lang.tcl,comp.lang.perl
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From: peter@nmti.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: Metalanguages in environments where code is data.
	Re: GNU Script isn't fixing something that's broken, so is doomed
Message-ID: <id.X3GE1.T12@nmti.com>
Sender: peter@nmti.com (peter da silva)
Organization: Network/development platform support, NMTI
References: <394kll$kso@csnews.cs.Colorado.EDU> <39bo03$d4e@csnews.cs.colorado.edu> <id.QQFE1.XIE@nmti.com> <39dr6b$77q@csnews.cs.colorado.edu>
Date: Sat, 5 Nov 1994 00:04:40 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.misc:18757 gnu.misc.discuss:19452 comp.lang.scheme:10948 comp.lang.tcl:21376 comp.lang.perl:38019

In article <39dr6b$77q@csnews.cs.colorado.edu>,
Tom Christiansen  <tchrist@mox.perl.com> wrote:
> :I doubt that a clean Scheme version would be much, if any, more complex.
> :As you can see, the resulting Tcl makefile is just as readable and
> :maintainable as the original. Why look, Tcl is now a declarative language!
> :Nope... but the metalanguage put together from this subset of Tcl *is*.

> tcl is certainly better for making new little languages than perl is.
> it's because it doesn't define syntax much, and because it uses braces for
> single quoting.

The simple syntax is a common thread among these sorts of languages, whether
lisp-derived or those created out of whole cloth like Forth/Postscript/...
and APL.

Calling quoting "single quoting" is itself pretty revealing.

> it's just not good for large applications.

I'm not talking about large applications. I'm talking about extension
languages. I wouldn't use "make", "nroff", or HTML for large applications
either.
-- 
Peter da Silva                                            `-_-'
Network Management Technology Incorporated                 'U`
1601 Industrial Blvd.     Sugar Land, TX  77478  USA
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