Arc Forum | A few questions about Arc

Arc Forum

2 points by portia 4780 days ago | 8 comments

1. What's the situation with Arc? Is there any timeline for a finished release? Or is it the same model that Slackware uses: It's going to be released when it's ready.

2. Are the instructions for installation of Arc http://arclanguage.org/install up to date?

3. Which resource to learn Arc would you recommend?

Thank you

1 point by akkartik 4780 days ago | link

Good questions. The install instructions are valid but for a really old scheme. The site and release hasn't seen updates in some time, but a few of us have made unofficial updates.

http://sites.google.com/site/arclanguagewiki/getting-started...

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1 point by portia 4779 days ago | link

Thanks for the reply. I'll try to use that new installation method. What do you feel is going to be Arc's future?

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2 points by akkartik 4779 days ago | link

I'm not sure anybody here could say. We who remain here seem to be motivated by considerations of abstract aesthetics rather than the prospect of a mature platform with lots of users. I work on my arc-based project because I can't seem to stop. Last month I didn't work on it for 2 weeks, and it seemed possible that something irreversible had happened.

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1 point by portia 4779 days ago | link

I really admire your attitude. A few months ago I started learning CL (I don't know any other language well) but got discouraged quickly (not by its syntax - I loved it and the brevity of the language) but by the fact that my reasons for learning a language are unfortunately slightly more pragmatic. Then I went back to python but I don't enjoy it as much as I did with CL. I know it may sound like a cliche but (even for a Lisp newbie) I could its beauty. Then I read about Arc so thought it might be the best of both worlds - Lisp and modern. In all honesty, the fact that Paul Graham hasn't officially updated it for a while is not encouraging. As much as I admire your attitude to it, I think I need to think more practically in terms of languages:(

In layman terms (I'm still a Lisp newbie) how would you describe differences between Arc and CL. What has improved? I know it has been cleaned of unnecessary bits.

Thank you

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2 points by akkartik 4779 days ago | link

Thank you for the kind words. For me Arc was a gateway drug. I'd had some experience with lisp before, but Arc really got me into it. It's smaller and more ergonomic to use in lots of little ways. After building up some experience I naturally got into more pragmatic lisps like CL and Racket.

For the first few months I'd program Arc with my code in one window and the arc compiler in another. The fact that the core of arc fits in one file makes for a quite unparalleled learning experience.

Sometimes it's more efficient to start with a less practical language, because your initial focus is on core fundamentals rather than distracting implementational details.

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1 point by kinleyd 4778 days ago | link

Portia, have you tried Ruby? That is another beautiful language (and no wonder as it has taken a lot from Lisp).

For Lisp experimentation purposes, Arc is really clean - it doesn't have the kind of cruft that CL has. However, if you are planning to implement a for production project in Lisp, from all I've read, Common Lisp is the way to go as it has a wide and mature range of libraries, which Arc presently does not. And among the CL dialects, SBCL would be a good pick. Be sure to use Zach Beane's QuickLisp utility to find and install CL libraries. IMHO.

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2 points by lark 4776 days ago | link

You can always call Python from Arc to use some libraries.

A Python dict to s-exp converter is about 38 lines. There's a fromjson.arc (breaks over some input) and a tojson.arc (broken, creates an extra }) somewhere that could help talk to web services.

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1 point by kinleyd 4778 days ago | link

Nicely put, akkartik. I'm sure your patience will be rewarded. More than Y Combinator, and perhaps as much as his really thought provoking essays, Arc represents pg's strongest shot at leaving behind a lasting legacy. I seriously doubt pg can leave Arc hanging for much longer. :)

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