> Yet it worked like a charm because developers loved the fact that they had in > their hand a huge monolithic platform that could satisfy their wildest dream > as far as library support went through. And on top that platform was cross > platform.
Sounds like Smalltalk :-) Don't get me wrong: a language without libraries is like an OS without applications, but the point is that most of the unpopular languages have sufficient libraries. After doing Smalltalk for over 15 years, I still discover things inside the libraries that come with a standard image. And yes, some libraries will attract people: office libraries in .net, RoR in Ruby, etc... I think once sufficient libraries are present, an active community is more important (in the absence of large company backing) and libraries are a consequence. But hey, we should probably go have a beer over this ;-) Johan
