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From: aaron@funcity.njit.edu (Aaron Watters)
Subject: Re: Indentation (was Re: What language would you use?)
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Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 22:15:32 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.scheme:11061 comp.lang.python:2502 comp.lang.misc:18918 comp.lang.tcl:21550

RE: the proposed gnu extension language
In article <ROCKWELL.94Nov7152559@nova.umd.edu> rockwell@nova.umd.edu (Raul Deluth Miller) writes:

>...In the current context (GEL having been recently announced), the only
>constructive suggestion that occurs to me is: perhaps it would be a
>good idea for someone to write a python front end for GEL....

Yes, I believe RMS Himself suggested this.  The python
syntax is even appropriate for end users such as factory
floor types and businessy nimwits.  Excellent idea.

Of course if python was *only* syntactic sugar I really
wouldn't be that interested.

A couple difficulties with the Python->GEL scheme (!) (for me anyway):

minor: 
  It would be best for GEL to allow exactly the same pretty
  good linkage to C (or whatever) extension modules so as to take advantage
  of the considerable and growing code base of python extensions.
  I don't know if this would cause difficulties.

major: 
  GEL should have the same really free copyright that Python has.
  The GEL proposal hinted at fewer restrictions than the full
  blown GPL, but even the LGPL requires the programmer to
  [smart remark deleted]... meet some "responsibilities" that
  commercial projects may find irritating at a minimum.  
  I doubt the GNU project could stomach going far enough 
  away from the GPL, since that would be directly opposed to their 
  stated goals.  I hope I'll be surprised.

To me, the major reason for TCL's success is its truly unrestrictive
copyright and its portable extendability to C.  With Python you get
all that and a pretty neat programming language as well.
		-a.

For the curious: using the WWW look at
   http://www.cwi.nl/~guido/Python.html
or check out the faq in the python newsgroup.

