Despite lots of second-guessing, there is no consensus that the CLR is inherently unfriendly to dynamic languages. The JVM didn't bend over backwards for such languages either, and yet Jython is a great success thanks to the heroic efforts of its inventor, Jim Hugunin. Now Hugunin has turned his attention to .NET, and reports promising results with a prototype Python implementation for .NET called IronPython.
Such projects always seem to spring from an inspired individual or small team. In fact, Microsoft has such a team. It created JScript.NET, the most dynamic of Microsoft's .NET languages. But JScript.NET is the unloved stepsister of C# and VB.NET.
Dynamic languages are rooted in a culture that is simply not indigenous to Redmond. That may change, but for the time being, the future of dynamic languages in .NET lies with non-Microsoft innovators. [Full story at InfoWorld.com]
When we argue over whether or not a programming language should have types, we are not discussing a matter of fact. Instead, we are participating in what [linguistic philosopher John L.] Austin would call confessional language; what we are really doing is saying something about ourselves.
... [Jon's Radio]
Another masterpiece by Jon Udell.
Basically programmers can be divided into two categories: those who program components and those who program applications. This defines their preferences in term of programming language. The data the program manipulates also dictate (is the main drive for?) the choice of programming language. The expression "our shop is a C/C++/Java/... shop" no longer holds... Who are you? Most of the time I build applications, not components. That's why I tend to use Perl, Python or VB rather than C or Java.
In this article, on may find this "juicy bit":
"Even now, statistics for murder are not kept in the tribal areas, since murder is not considered a crime. It is merely a matter to be dealt with by the victim's family, usually through vendetta, revenge, blood feud, or in some cases, monetary compensation." No wonder bin Laden hides there...
