Comments on: Why Ruby is a good language for DSLs http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/03/04/why-ruby-is-a-good-language-for-dsls/ The blog of John D. Cook Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:42:11 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Mark Reid http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/03/04/why-ruby-is-a-good-language-for-dsls/comment-page-1/#comment-14369 Mark Reid Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:32:41 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/?p=1639#comment-14369 I haven't used Forth but I have played around with an interesting language called <a href="http://factorcode.org/" rel="nofollow">Factor</a> which seems a natural successor to Forth in that it is stack-based has a similar syntax. I haven’t used Forth but I have played around with an interesting language called Factor which seems a natural successor to Forth in that it is stack-based has a similar syntax.

]]> By: rdn http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/03/04/why-ruby-is-a-good-language-for-dsls/comment-page-1/#comment-14156 rdn Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:11:09 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/?p=1639#comment-14156 In Forth, every function name becomes a keyword, and there are no parentheses. Those features don't necessarily make Forth suitable for all types of DSLs, but it easily meets the criteria you've laid out. And if you can assimilate the idiosyncratic RPN syntax, you might find it to be a surprisingly powerful little language. Although I haven't used Forth in about 20 years, of all the languages I've learned, Forth is the one that has had the greatest impact on inducing the adoption of good practices regarding code factoring and documentation. In Forth, every function name becomes a keyword, and there are no parentheses. Those features don’t necessarily make Forth suitable for all types of DSLs, but it easily meets the criteria you’ve laid out. And if you can assimilate the idiosyncratic RPN syntax, you might find it to be a surprisingly powerful little language.

Although I haven’t used Forth in about 20 years, of all the languages I’ve learned, Forth is the one that has had the greatest impact on inducing the adoption of good practices regarding code factoring and documentation.

]]> By: John http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/03/04/why-ruby-is-a-good-language-for-dsls/comment-page-1/#comment-14138 John Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:36:18 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/?p=1639#comment-14138 Thanks, Mark. I fixed the mistake with the example. Thanks, Mark. I fixed the mistake with the example.

]]> By: Mark Reid http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/03/04/why-ruby-is-a-good-language-for-dsls/comment-page-1/#comment-14120 Mark Reid Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:31:07 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/?p=1639#comment-14120 I've been using ruby for a while now and I am still often pleasantly surprised when I see a clever DSL built in ruby. The web framework Sinatra and the graphics language Shoooes are good, recent examples. Just a nit-pick, the example you use `skin this cat` would actually be interpreted as `skin(this,cat)`. I’ve been using ruby for a while now and I am still often pleasantly surprised when I see a clever DSL built in ruby. The web framework Sinatra and the graphics language Shoooes are good, recent examples.

Just a nit-pick, the example you use `skin this cat` would actually be interpreted as `skin(this,cat)`.

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