7 ms·

What was the inspiration to create yet another compile to JS language?

brudgers 11y ago
The ubiquity of the browser one would expect.
breuleux 11y ago
I guess I wanted macros and pattern matching without Lisp syntax, and I wanted to retain and use the JS/node ecosystem. There's also a few language features I couldn't find anywhere else that I wanted to try out (my % operator, ad hoc exception classes, some pattern matching features like coercion and "match" inside a pattern to define sub-patterns, the each operator, some features of the macro system that I have yet to document, etc.) It's kind of fun, really.
- visarga 11y ago
  What does the % operator formally do? All I could find in the documentation was : > Earl Grey's % operator can be used to easily build HTML, DOM, virtual DOM, and other things:
  - breuleux 11y ago
    There are examples below that statement for common usage, but if you want a deeper understanding: tag.xyz % property = value child1 child2 Will produce the data structure: {tags = {"tag", ".xyz"} props = {property = value} children = {child1, child2}} as an instance of the ENode class. Then, transformer functions can process the data structure to generate HTML or other things, e.g. require: /html html(thing) ==> <tag class="xyz" property="value">child1child2</tag>
ffn 11y ago
Because folks feel there is a need for them, and it's a really good way to get one's feet wet in the compiler pound. Besides, a programming language (dialect) is to a programmer what different size wenches, pipes, or hoes are to a plumber. You need different tools for different jobs and a lot of it depends on your personal preference and what it will take you to be efficient. Besides, how we as engineers solve problems is just as much an expression of our personality as it is a statement about the correct operation of systems. But that's just my view, and I'm definitely biased on the subject because I'm working on a flavor of coffeescript that will compile to msft's typescript as we speak (well, in my spare time).
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

The ubiquity of the browser one would expect.

I guess I wanted macros and pattern matching without Lisp syntax, and I wanted to retain and use the JS/node ecosystem. There's also a few language features I couldn't find anywhere else that I wanted to try out (my % operator, ad hoc exception classes, some pattern matching features like coercion and "match" inside a pattern to define sub-patterns, the each operator, some features of the macro system that I have yet to document, etc.) It's kind of fun, really.

visarga 11y ago
What does the % operator formally do? All I could find in the documentation was : > Earl Grey's % operator can be used to easily build HTML, DOM, virtual DOM, and other things:
- breuleux 11y ago
  There are examples below that statement for common usage, but if you want a deeper understanding: tag.xyz % property = value child1 child2 Will produce the data structure: {tags = {"tag", ".xyz"} props = {property = value} children = {child1, child2}} as an instance of the ENode class. Then, transformer functions can process the data structure to generate HTML or other things, e.g. require: /html html(thing) ==> <tag class="xyz" property="value">child1child2</tag>

ffn 11y ago

Because folks feel there is a need for them, and it's a really good way to get one's feet wet in the compiler pound. Besides, a programming language (dialect) is to a programmer what different size wenches, pipes, or hoes are to a plumber. You need different tools for different jobs and a lot of it depends on your personal preference and what it will take you to be efficient. Besides, how we as engineers solve problems is just as much an expression of our personality as it is a statement about the correct operation of systems. But that's just my view, and I'm definitely biased on the subject because I'm working on a flavor of coffeescript that will compile to msft's typescript as we speak (well, in my spare time).

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]