[ruby-talk:04071] Re: Phython and Microsoft's IL

Hi,

"Dave Thomas" wrote:

> In case anyone missed in over on comp.lang.python, ActiveState are
> producing a version of Python that compiles down to Microsoft's new
> Intermediate Language (IL), the common intermediate code for their
> .NET stuff.
>
> I'm not sure _what_ I feel about this. Part of me says that the
> integration will be great, and that Windows users will love having the
> flexibility. On the other hand, will they move away from the existing
> Microsoft scripting languages?

A few users probably will, but the more important factor will probably be
attracting more Python developers and system integrators and so on to the
hot growth areas that the other MS languages are not as well suited for in
terms of overall productivity and continual revamping.

> And C#Python is yet one more version of
> Python to be maintained and kept up to date; quite a drag on
> innovation.

We should be so lucky. But I don't think this is likely if ActiveState is
bringing any significant new resources to the table. By making Python even
more attractive on Windows for some moderate to large fraction of the
existing and borderline would-be Python users, this is likely to
significantly increase the size of the Python community, which in turn tends
to attract the sorts of high-level resources that tends to accelerate
innovation, not retard it.

> It's also interesting that ActiveState seem to have a
> lock on both Perl _and_ Python integration on Windows.

Almost as bad as the seeming lock that Red Hat nee Cygnus has on GNU tools
on Windows.

Well, on the average, it has certainly be a healthy and beneficial
development for the relentlessly growing Window's Perl community, and the
Unicode additions certainly seems to be turning into a net gain for the
larger Perl world as well.

> What do people think about all this?

Embrace and clone/port? :-)

If ActiveState were supporting Ruby, we would likely have fewer problems
with the wrong versions of DLLs and Ruby/Tk on Windows would probably work.

Well, this (in conjunction with earlier ActiveState Python developments)
certainly gives Python a big boost relative to Perl. (After all, most of the
world's computer users and developers are on Windows at the moment, and this
is probably where the greater fraction of Python expansion will occur over
the next few years.) I think this will make it somewhat tougher for Ruby to
compete with Python, but I think Ruby will still prevail.

Conrad.