[REBOL] Re: What does REBOL fix?
From: maximo:meteorstudios at: 17-Dec-2003 20:23
a twist on my previous statement...
REBOL: others define code, rebol expresses it
and a new one:
REBOL: its quick and dirty... without the dirty
---------------------------
DRIFTNG A LITTLE BIT...
---------------------------
In this ongoing discussion, it has been confirmed that you can evaluate code "on-the-fly"
in most modern languages, or have modules or extensions which allow it.
But rebol, being an expression parser and evaluator, handles code in many ways like if
it where any kind of mathematical expression. This means evaluating code on the fly
is INTRINSIC to rebol... its not just a feature.
no one marvels when they know that their language can calculate an expression with functions
and variables:
b = (x + abs(x) + 45) / 2
here each parenthesis will eventually receive a value once its internals have computed
and will get a numerical value.
in the above, execution is impossible without defining x, right? I mean, any computer
programmer will react instantly and say: "of course!".
Many rebolers have yet to realise that rebol actually handles all data in much the same
manner, relatively speaking. Code being just another type of data to handle. Defining,
evaluating, passing, and assigning values to/from words as it encounters them.
warning:
The following code and explanations is a little more advanced, and is an excellent primer
for those of you who want to get in on the more "obscure" (advanced) functionalites of
rebol! If you don't understand the following, you should look up each word in the help
and try to understand it piece by piece. It might open up your understanding of all
that jabbering, the more experienced rebolers have been doing. ;-)
type this in the rebol console:
>> hello: do prints: func [arg][does compose [print (arg)]] "hello world"
>> hello
hello world
Each thing in the expression is evaluated one by one like a mathematical expression.
here, the word PRINTS eventually got a value while rebol was evaluating the expression
line, so we can then try:
>> bye: prints "bye bye"
>> bye
bye bye
bye and hello really are new functions, as proven here:
>> source hello
hello: func [][print "hello world"]
This shows how you can create you own custom "statements", as defined in other languages.
conclusion:
-----------
Yes, many other languages support on-the-fly eval() of code, but to get that back right
in the language without any additional effort, to be able to play with code like data,
to assign contexts to words, store them, generate new functions using these contexts
and all the manner of advanced modifiable code, IMHO rebol is the current (easy and fast
to use) king of the hill...
HTH!
-MAx
dont be fooled. Simple is hardest
