On Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 9:55 AM, Zed Becker <zed.bec...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Why do the languages running on the CLR (ironRuby, ironPython, ironScheme, > ScalaCLR) do not get to live long enough in the sunshine, whereas same > languages get embraced by the Java runtime, and live in the limelight? N.B. - Not all is well on top of the JVM. Jython, the Python implementation, tends to die and get revived and then it dies again. I don't know the state of IronPython right now, but it was in much better shape when I last looked at it. The JVM is more popular for other languages though. There are multiple issues at play here. Language authors prefer the JVM as a target, as it's easier to bootstrap a new language on top of the JVM. The JVM as a target is much friendlier to other languages, compared to the CLR, in spite of the initial hype surrounding the CLR's multi-language capabilities. There's also the huge open-source Java ecosystem to blame. For everything you want to do, there's already a library that you can build on top of (Netty is a stellar example, being used all over the place). Also, many language authors would like to support both, but they lack the resources to do it, so they end up picking one and stick with it. Then there's the audience. Unix has always been a true tower of Babel for programming languages (that's why it has a Shebang). And the JVM has and always had first-class support for Unix variants, including Linux, BSD and OS X. People that target Unix for deployments (web apps, mobile apps) or people that use Unix on their workstations accustomed to Unix toolchains, will always prefer tools that are first-class in Unix. Having true cross-platform support and not having to recompile is pretty sweet too. Then there are also the Java developers that are fed up with Java, the programming language, but love the JVM, the tooling available and the Java ecosystem (such as myself). So Unix is like a tower of Babel for programming languages, but the .NET ecosystem is the exact opposite. .NET developers that want to pick alternatives to C# have an uphill battle to do against the status quo, as .NET developers and companies tend to be pretty conservative. The uptake of F# has been abysmal compared to JRuby, even though F# is included in Visual Studio and classic ASP.NET is still more popular than ASP.NET MVC. JRuby is an interesting case-study. It is popular because it's used as a deployment target for web applications (Rails runs well on top of it), quickly becoming the de-facto standard, as more and more people start realizing how awesome it is compared to Ruby MRI in a server-side environment. With each release, performance has been improved by leaps and bounds. So it won converts that normally live in the Ruby ecosystem and had no interest in Java or the JVM. Also, JRuby is a community-driven project, sponsored by multiple companies involved in the Ruby ecosystem, born out of real necessities and that thrived because it was designed to fit well within the existing Ruby ecosystem. IronRuby, a project started by Microsoft for demoing the DLR library, never stood a chance to catch up with it. -- Alexandru Nedelcu https://bionicspirit.com -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Clojure" group. To post to this group, send email to clojure@googlegroups.com Note that posts from new members are moderated - please be patient with your first post. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to clojure+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/clojure?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Clojure" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to clojure+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
