From: James Britt Date: 2005-09-19T12:10:33+09:00 Subject: Re: Language recommendations from ruby persons.... Greg Lorriman wrote: > "Devin Mullins" wrote in message > news:432DEC60.7060601@comcast.net... ... >>1. http://www.erights.org/e/satan/ -- I haven't actually read this paper, >>but it seems topical, so maybe somebody else will, and provide us a book >>report. :) >>2. http://www.madore.org/~david/programs/unlambda/ -- The purest, simplest >>programming language ever, and it's functional, to boot. Smart combination >>of a few simple constructs allows for a whole world of flexibility. > > > sounds kinda interesting. But is it enjoyable? Is it practical? I was > careful to list what I am looking for quite prominently. The intersection of practical and interesting may be quite small. Someone suggested JavaScript; not a bad idea, though probably not different enough from Ruby to really stretch your brain. But, if practical is a major factor, consider jscript.net. You can use Microsoft's version of ECMASscript to write .Net code. (I *think* there is a jscript.net compilier for mono, but I'm not sure.) But if you are really looking for something that helps you think in a different direction, yet isn't merely academic or weird-for-weirdness sake, try a functional language such as Haskell. Or consider OCaml; some folks here were discussing ways of writing binary Ruby extensions in OCaml as opposed to C which seemed quite interesting. Lisp, Haskell, and Ocaml are floating in the back of my own mind as candidates for next language to learn. Lisp has the upper hand so far, because, well, it's *Lisp*. And there are lots of good, free resources for it. > > >>Have fun. > > > I am trying. > > >>Devin >>APL, Eiffel, Erlang, Haskell, Io, Joy, Lisp, Lua, Mathematica, Mozart/Oz, >>OCaml, Prolog, REXX, Scala, Scheme, Self, and Smalltalk are all the >>legitimate, 'alternative' languages that I recognize (by name only, for >>the most part) from that wiki page, so maybe that makes them more popular. >>Now get to Googlin'. > > > ? I can't believe my eyes. > > Can someone tell me if I am talking to a troll? Well, they do exist and occasionally appear on this list. I suggest that, before you think someone a troll, try to be generous and just assume the poster is not a native speaker of English, and may have only skimmed your original post, and really means well but doesn't always come off well in plain text. James -- http://www.ruby-doc.org - The Ruby Documentation Site http://www.rubyxml.com - News, Articles, and Listings for Ruby & XML http://www.rubystuff.com - The Ruby Store for Ruby Stuff http://www.jamesbritt.com - Playing with Better Toys