CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Development Languages
CSS Cascading Style Sheets
YAML Yet Another Markup Language

0605 -
0605 -    ..
0606 - Summary/Objective
0607 -
060701 - Follow up ref SDS 4 0000. ref SDS 3 0000.
060702 -
060703 - TFS Project Master Record 060708, ref SDS 1 0001
060705 -  ..
060706 - All development will be done on Windows. Web apps will be deployed on
060707 - Linux.
060709 -  ..
060710 - Use Delphi for desktop applications planned for sale. Script it with
060711 - one of the Pascal variants unless we can find a better approach.
060713 -  ..
060714 - 070614 Review of Rubygems convinced me that using Ruby for personal
060715 - tools and Ruby on Rails for the web platform makes good sense. Ruby
060716 - provides an easy introduction to OO. I can teach Ruby while learning
060717 - PHP, which I can then teach.
060719 -  ..
060720 - Use Ruby for small personal tools when appropriate.
060722 -  ..
060723 - On the web, use PHP with Symfony, Perl with Catalyst, and Ruby with
060724 - Ruby On Rails as primary languages.  Use Javascript in web pages and
060725 - with Ajax.
060727 -  ..
060728 - Use Javascript for Firefox and Thunderbird extensions. Use Dscript
060729 - implementation to use Javascript on the desktop.
060731 -  ..
060732 - While not precisely languages, (X)HTML and CSS are esential. XML may
060733 - be needed, but XML is a huge area and the tools are all over the map.
060735 -  ..
060736 - Prefer XHTML to HTML.
060738 -  ..
060739 - Prefer YAML to XML where YAML is reasonable, generally when intended
060740 - for human consumption.
060741 -
060742 -    See Markup Languages, ref SDS 0 MJ7L
060744 -  ..
060745 - Use 4NT and learn at least some of the nicer parts of its batch
060746 - language.
060748 -  ..
060749 - The CMAC macro language used in MultiEdit may be used to provide
060750 - enchancements.
060751 -
060753 -  ..
0608 -
0609 -
0610 - Discussion
0611 -
061102 -  ..
061103 - Language selection depends on many factors:
061104 -
061105 -    1.  Problem area
061106 -
061107 -        Desktop apps need compiled languages for speed and security.
061108 -
061109 -        Web apps can use scripting languages.
061111 -         ..
061112 -    2.  Available languages and implementations
061113 -
061114 -        The language has to be available for the target environment.
061116 -         ..
061117 -        Vendor supprt has to be trustworthy or there need to be
061118 -        multiple vendors to provide long-term availability
061120 -         ..
061121 -    3.  User community
061122 -
061123 -        The larger the community, the more likely that there is code
061124 -        and assistance available. Questions get answered more readily
061125 -        in a larger, friendly community.
061127 -         ..
061128 -    4.  Object Oriented - OO is to powerful to do without unless there
061129 -        is no other option.
061131 -         ..
061132 -    5.  Fun - Or at least not drudgery. We want to enjoy the journey.
061134 -         ..
061135 -    6.  IDEs - An IDE is more than an editor, and a good one can
061136 -        improve productivity substantially.
061138 -         ..
061139 -    7.  Moderate Learning Curve - We will need several languages, so
061140 -        we can't spend a lot of time learning any on language.
061142 -         ..
061143 -    8.  Manageable Libraries -- When the libraries get too large the
061144 -        learning curve becomes too long.
061146 -         ..
061147 -    9.  Licensing - We don't want to pay for runtime licenses. Any
061148 -        runtime needs to be free.
061149 -
061150 -
061152 -  ..
061153 - Desktop Applications
061154 -
061155 -
061156 -    1.  Compiled - Compilation tends to protect the source code.
061157 -
061158 -        Note: Compiling to bytecode often lends itself to disassembly
061159 -        without some precautions such as obfuscation or encryption.
061161 -         ..
061162 -    2.  Fast - Users expect quick response from desktop applications
061163 -        more so than web apps.
061164 -
061165 -
061167 -     ..
061168 -    C / C++
061169 -
061170 -    C isn't OO.
061172 -     ..
061173 -    C++ is too arcane and complex, and its libraries can be huge.  The
061174 -    learning curve is too long and too steep. It just isn't fun.
061176 -     ..
061177 -    There are free environments, but few really good IDEs that aren't
061178 -    commercial and expensive.
061180 -     ..
061181 -    If we need to do some C / C++ work, we can use gcc or Turbo C++.
061182 -    Both are free.
061183 -
061184 -
061186 -     ..
061187 -    Eiffel
061188 -
061189 -    Effel is a nice language, and it always starts out on the list.
061190 -
061191 -    Of the major implementations,
061192 -
061193 -       1.  ISE Eiffel costs $5000 and is the defacto standard in the
061194 -           industry. It implements the latest version of the standard.
061196 -            ..
061197 -       2.  Smart Eiffel (GNU Eiffel) is open source and looks really
061198 -           good, except that they are not going to implement the latest
061199 -           standard, thus fragmenting the language.
061201 -            ..
061202 -           It generates C or Java bytecode. The C backend requires a
061203 -           C/C++ compiler. The Java backend should allow applications
061204 -           to run everywhere.
061206 -            ..
061207 -       3.  Gobo Eiffel is open source and is following the new standard
061208 -           but is incomplete.
061210 -     ..
061211 -    In short, there isn't a reliable, supported, inexpensive, standard
061212 -    Eiffel implementation, so that pretty much rules it out.
061213 -
061214 -
061216 -     ..
061217 -    Java Language
061218 -
061219 -    The Java language is relative small, but the libraries are
061220 -    massive. The total learning curve is substantial.
061222 -     ..
061223 -    It compiles to bytecode leaving it slower than compiled code in
061224 -    most cases, and vulnerable to decompiling.
061226 -     ..
061227 -    Rejected.
061228 -
061229 -
061231 -     ..
061232 -    Smalltalk
061233 -
061234 -    While Smalltalk can't be considered to be fringe, and there are
061235 -    good environments available, I think it is too different to be
061236 -    able to learn easily. This needs to be reconsidered at a later
061237 -    time.
061239 -     ..
061240 -    Rejected with reservations.
061241 -
061242 -
061244 -     ..
061245 -    Lisp Language
061246 -
061247 -    Lisp suffers from most of the same problems as Smalltalk. The
061248 -    learning curve is steep as it involves learning the functional
061249 -    language model.
061250 -
061251 -    Rejected.
061252 -
061253 -
061255 -     ..
061256 -    D Language
061257 -
061258 -    The D language from Digital Mars has proprietary elements, a
061259 -    single developer, and a small, relatively inactive community. It
061260 -    is better than C++ as was intended, but there is no real support.
061261 -
061262 -    Rejected.
061263 -
061264 -
061266 -     ..
061267 -    Delphi
061268 -
061269 -    Commercial version costs $900, which is high, but it has a great
061270 -    IDE, extensive libraries and is OO. I have the latest version.
061271 -    Turbo Delphi has free and inexpensive versions that are less
061272 -    capable that the top versions, but would be adequate for a start.
061274 -     ..
061275 -    There are Pascal-like scripting languages. Ruby can be used for
061276 -    scripting, but reports from a Small Eiffel developer indcate that
061277 -    Ruby doesn't fare well in a threaded environment such as any
061278 -    desktop application has to be.
061280 -     ..
061281 -    Accepted.
061282 -
061283 -
061285 -     ..
061286 -    C# and .NET
061287 -
061288 -    The .NET environment is bytecoded, and the libraries are huge. The
061289 -    development environments are primarily Microsoft and Borland and
061290 -    are expensive.
061291 -
061292 -    Rejected.
061293 -
061294 -
061296 -     ..
061297 -    Visual Basic
061298 -
061299 -    There is OO support, but the language is ugly. It is Microsoft
061300 -    only. It uses a runtime, and apps can be slow.
061301 -
061302 -    Rejected.
061303 -
061304 -
061306 -     ..
061307 -    Visual Basic for Applications
061308 -
061309 -    This is the scripting language for Microsoft Office products, and
061310 -    is therefore useful to know. VBA can do some things that don't
061311 -    appear to be possible with external languages and OLE.
061312 -
061313 -    Accepted for Gary, rejected for the team.
061314 -
061315 -
061317 -  ..
061318 - Personal and Open Source Tools
061319 -
061320 - Personal or open source tools can be built using scripting languages
061321 - since we aren't trying to keep others from reading
061322 - the source code.
061323 -
061324 - Ruby is still the langage of choice for most of these tools.
061326 -  ..
061327 - This adds most of the tools considered for web aplications. By using
061328 - a small server on the desktop, web applications can be made to
061329 - function on the desktop (see Webrick and PHPDock).
061331 -  ..
061332 - Scripting and macros in various tools will use the appropriate
061333 - languages.
061334 -
061335 -    1.  VBA for Microsoft Office products
061336 -
061337 -    2.  CMAC for MultiEdit
061338 -
061339 -
061341 -  ..
061342 - Web Applications
061343 -
061344 - Desirable characteristics include:
061345 -
061346 -    1.  Hosting available - the language needs to be available on the
061347 -        target web host(s).
061349 -         ..
061350 -    2.  Frameworks - Having web frameworks reduces development time
061351 -        while adding (hopefully few) constraints.
061352 -
061353 -
061355 -     ..
061356 -    Perl
061357 -    ----
061358 -    Perl has been the predominate language on the web for decades, amd
061359 -    we will need to be conversant with it since it is so heavily used.
061360 -    PHP is beginning to supplant it, but the numbers aren't readily
061361 -    available.
061363 -     ..
061364 -    While there are some IDEs there don't appear to be any outstanding
061365 -    ones. The Catalyst framework is similar to Ruby On Rails.
061367 -     ..
061368 -    Accepted.
061369 -
061370 -
061372 -     ..
061373 -    PHP
061374 -    ---
061375 -    PHP is probably the most common language for web applications. It
061376 -    has some warts, but PHP5 is OO, and there are IDEs and frameworks
061377 -    for it. The Symfony framework is similar to Ruby On Rails.
061379 -     ..
061380 -    CodeGear offers Delphi for PHP, which should make application
061381 -    development far simpler.
061383 -     ..
061384 -    Accepted.
061385 -
061386 -
061388 -     ..
061389 -    Ruby
061390 -    ----
061391 -    Ruby is a very nice langage, and Ruby On Rails put it on the map
061392 -    in a big way. Hosting and community support are both a bit weak
061393 -    compared to Perl and PHP.
061395 -     ..
061396 -    It is so attractive that I am not willing to give it up totally,
061397 -    so our web host(s) will support it.
061399 -     ..
061400 -    Accepted.
061401 -
061402 -
061404 -     ..
061405 -    Python
061406 -
061407 -    Python has good OO. My major complaint is the indentation is part
061408 -    of the language syntax, and that is too weird to suit me. There
061409 -    have been major applications written in it. Hosting is
061410 -    problematic.
061412 -     ..
061413 -    Rejected (unless we find a killer app).
061414 -
061415 -
061417 -     ..
061418 -    JavaScript
061419 -
061420 -    Primarily used embedded in browsers, but it is commonly used as
061421 -    and extension language (Thunderbird and Firefox). It is necessary
061422 -    in the places it is used.
061423 -
061424 -    Microsoft's variant is JScript and that is rejected.
061426 -     ..
061427 -    Digital Mars' DScript is a standards compliant Javascript (ECMA
061428 -    Script) that runs on the desktop, making Javascript useful for
061429 -    desktop tools.
061431 -     ..
061432 -    Accepted.
061433 -
061434 -
061436 -     ..
061437 -    Java Server Pages
061438 -    Active Server Pages
061439 -
061440 -    These are for server side scripting of web pages. Perl, Ruby,
061441 -    Javascript, and several languages can be used the same way.
061442 -
061443 -    Rejected.
061444 -
061445 -
061447 -  ..
061448 - Miscellaneous Languages
061449 -
061450 -
061451 -
061452 -    Rebol
061453 -
061454 -    Rebol is proprietary. The core is free, the enterprise versions
061455 -    cost. It is the product of a small team, has a rather small
061456 -    community, and its programming model has learning problems similar
061457 -    to Smalltalk or Lisp. It is intriguing, but not applicable.
061459 -     ..
061460 -    Rejected.
061461 -
061462 -
061464 -     ..
061465 -    Lua
061466 -    ---
061467 -    Lua is a C-like embeddable scripting language. Arachnophobia is
061468 -    planning to use it in the Smart Eiffel environment.
061469 -
061470 -    Possible, but only in specialised circumstances.
061471 -
061472 -
061474 -     ..
061475 -    CMAC for MultiEdit
061476 -
061477 -    CMAC is the macro language for MultiEdit. There have been several
061478 -    things I want to do in MultiEdit and there will be more.
061479 -
061480 -    Personal for Gary, reject for the team.
061481 -
061482 -
061484 -     ..
061485 -    4NT Batch Language
061486 -
061487 -    While much of the language is just BATCH language, there are
061488 -    *lots* of extensions that make it extremely powerful. We need to
061489 -    make use of some of that capability.
061490 -
061491 -    Accepted.
061492 -
061493 -
061495 -  ..
061496 - Markup Languages
061497 -
061498 -
061499 -
061501 -     ..
061502 -    (X)HTML
061503 -    -------
061504 -    HTML is universal on the web. HTML 4.0 is the latest and cleanest
061505 -    version of the standard. It corresponds closely with XHTML. We
061506 -    need to use HTML, but should work toward XHTML wherever possible.
061507 -
061508 -
061510 -     ..
061511 -    Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
061512 -
061513 -    CSS is used to provide format and presentation information for
061514 -    HTML, which is intended to represent only content. The cleanest
061515 -    websites use XHTML and CSS together to provide good separation of
061516 -    content and presentation.
061517 -
061518 -
061520 -     ..
061521 -    XML
061522 -    ---
061523 -    XML is becoming pervasive as a data representation format. There
061524 -    are XML parsers for all the languages. It is simpler than the SGML
061525 -    from which it derives, but has essentially all the flexibility
061526 -    that one could imagine needed.
061528 -     ..
061529 -    A Document Type Definition (DTD) specifies the grammar for a
061530 -    dialect of XML, and a validating parser can insure that a
061531 -    documents adheres to the grammar.
061533 -     ..
061534 -    There are many tools for dealing with XML, including XSLT, which
061535 -    can be used to develop all manner of transformations of XML
061536 -    documents.
061537 -
061538 -
061540 -     ..
061541 -    Yet Another Markup Language (YAML)
061542 -
061543 -    YAML (rhymes with "camel") is a human-friendly, cross language,
061544 -    Unicode based data serialization language designed around the
061545 -    common native data structures of agile programming languages. It
061546 -    is broadly useful for programming needs ranging from configuration
061547 -    files to Internet messaging to object persistence to data
061548 -    auditing.
061549 -
061550 -       http://yaml.org/spec/
061552 -     ..
061553 -    Version 1.1 of the spec is in draft, but many are coding to it.
061555 -     ..
061556 -    We will likely standardize on it for such things as configuration
061557 -    files, since humans can read and write it, and YAML parsers can
061558 -    reconstruct objects from YAML files.
061559 -
061560 -
061561 -
0616 -