OpenEuphoria

RE: What we really need...

• Posted by Ray Smith <smithr at ix.net.au> Nov 12, 2002
• 425 views

irv at take.maxleft.com wrote:

[snip]

> Consider Perl, Python, Java, Ruby, Rebol.....
> Euphoria is smaller and faster than any of the above.
> Euphoria is more readable than perl or java, and (arguably) python and 
> ruby 
> as well. 

The reason???

Perl, Python and Ruby are 100% free and open source.  Many people add
features, apply patches and make improvements.  Because they are open
source they exist on almost every OS ever invented!

Java is being developed, supported and promoted by almost all the big
computer companies in the world.  Probably hundreds ... no ... thousands
of people are involved in its development and promotion.

Lesser issues but still important ... there are basically no tutorials
or documentation to help people learn to use Euphoria.

One killer app won't make a difference ... maybe 10 solid apps would.

I like Python ;) ...
When Python people say Google runs on Python, or these 50 commercial 
web sites, or these 100 commercial applications are written in Python
it matters.  

I dare anyone who hasn't looked at the Python code repository ...
the "Vaults of Parnassus" (http://www.vex.net/parnassus/) to go there
and tell me they aren't impressed.
Or browse the online builtin module list of Python at ...
http://python.org/doc/current/modindex.html
Want to connect to any of the databases at 
http://python.org/topics/database/modules.html
using a standard API?
Anyone interested in web programming http://python.org/topics/web/?

This is the work of many dozens (probably hundreds) of people over a 
very long period of time.  As a note ... much of this work is done in 
a commercial environment and given back to the community because
Python was given to them!

The current Euphoria business model will never compete with these
languages.  Anyone who wants Euphoria to be anything that it currently 
isn't will be very disappointed.

Saying all that I still like Euphoria, 
if Euphoria can do the job you want that's great,
if it can't do what you want and "you personally" can't make it do what 
you want, then it most likely won't do what you want in the near future.
Everyone makes their own choice.

My comments might sound negative (and they are) ... 
nothing I have seen in the last 3 or 4 years makes me believe Euphoria
in the future will be anything different to what it is now.
(Yes the number and quality of Euphoria libraries are improving but
at a slower rate than the competition ... it will never catch up)

Ray Smith
http://rays-web.com