[REBOL] Re: starting to be really late!?
From: ed:brittlestar at: 8-Jan-2004 22:18
> Hi (Ed I'm answering to your post but it's not only meant WRT what you
> have written),
Got it-- no problem. I'll reply to some of your points anyway. :)
> this "too late" etc. discussion continually shows up every couple of
> months. Is Rebol the problem? I don't think so
REBOL itself may be a problem if its design decisions inhibit sufficiently
broad acceptance of the language. Left idle REBOL provides little benefit--
developers and users are the true run-time engine.
If a critical mass of developers is not reached, there will be fewer
projects using it and fewer programs written in it, etc. Sounds like a
chicken-and-egg problem.
> To me the View 1.3 project is a first small step into the right direction.
Yes! I hope it works well for all involved.
> How much are you going to pay for this? Nothing? Will this work...
I am always willing to pay RT something when there's good value, and it's
within my budget. I've been a good customer, but I understand that not
everyone is fortunate enough to afford taking a chance on development tools.
> No, it's not the technology, it's what we do with it. ... Rebol
> seems to have many unique features but we failed to use these
> to create something that the markets want to have.
I agree. This reminds me of a post on Gadgetopia that has stayed with me a
while:
Problems No Platforms Will Fix
http://www.gadgetopia.com/2003/05/27/ProblemsNoPlatformWillFix.html
>> I believe that there are marketable & revolutionary products
>> in REBOL, or a REBOL-like language.
> Which ones?
My personal feeling is that REBOL should be used for things it's designed to
do well. Gotta work with what you've got. Dialecting combined with simple
networking make a powerful combination, and I think that represents fertile
ground for interesting programs. In most other areas of development, other
languages are on equal or better footing.
>> * information retrieval & consumption
>> * database interaction
>> * content creation
>> * games/media players
>>
>> and that history implies that the web has the first 2 solidly covered.
> There is one big missing, not solved yet: Integration of 1 and 2 to get
> value from it, so that 3 and 4 can be produced.
Could you elaborate a bit?
Best regards,
Ed
