The absence of meaningful code samples on the front page, and the request that I install software on my computer to try a few lines of code, makes me highly doubt the future of this endeavour, outside of academia.
Ballerina, a language with structural type system
21–30 of 126 posts
Re: Ballerina, a language with structural type system
#22> In Ballerina, every program is a sequence diagram that illustrates distributed and concurrent interactions automatically. The diagram is the code. The code is the diagram. I'm not sure it's a feature I'm missing in current languages, but I sure am curious about this. Maybe "ballerina by example" should implement a toggle between diagram and code views?
Given the end of your quote, what's to toggle between? (I think it means that the code does clearly enough the interactions that you don't need a separate diagram, rather than that there's built in tooling to generate one, if that's the confusion.)
There actually is a built in tool to generate a sequence diagram. The language is designed with the idea that it should be possible to generate such a diagram for every program. The tool to generate diagram is currently part of the vscode extension for ballerina. It's documented here. https://v1-0.ballerina.io/learn/tools-ides/vscode-plugin/gra...
Re: Ballerina, a language with structural type system
#23I can’t say much about the language, but I think the image at the bottom is somewhat inappropriate. Why is there a woman massaging a man while he uses a computer? I understand that this is to illustrate comfort, but this is not an appropriate way to illustrate that
Re: Ballerina, a language with structural type system
#24> Be conservative in what you send, be liberal in what you accept. This is now widely considered a terrible idea because it encourages software that doesn't conform to specifications, e.g. HTML's "quirks mode". https://i.stack.imgur.com/teQdv.png
This Internet Architecture Board draft was initially titled “Postel was wrong” https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-iab-protocol-maintenance
Re: Ballerina, a language with structural type system
#25I can’t say much about the language, but I think the image at the bottom is somewhat inappropriate. Why is there a woman massaging a man while he uses a computer? I understand that this is to illustrate comfort, but this is not an appropriate way to illustrate that
Is this some kind of snowflake joke I don't get? These are cartoons. Jesus, have become so sensitive to everything?
(forgive me in advance, but I don't understand what the problem is... a man massaging a woman would have been better? a man massaging a man? a woman massaging a woman? two robots perhaps? what would not make people more comfortable?)
Re: Ballerina, a language with structural type system
#26Visual programming languages are great in concept until you actually start using them. Luna-lang, for example, promises so much but severely lacks in delivery. This claims to convert sequence diagrams to code, but is it really production quality? If not, is this purely for prototyping? Not that that's a bad thing. Honestly, these claims are all starting to sound very repetitive.
The only mature visual programming language I am aware of, DRAKON, has been used quite successfully : ttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRAKON
Re: Ballerina, a language with structural type system
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given the end of your quote, what's to toggle between? (I think it means that the code does clearly enough the interactions that you don't need a separate diagram, rather than that there's built in tooling to generate one, if that's the confusion.)
There actually is a built in tool to generate a sequence diagram. The language is designed with the idea that it should be possible to generate such a diagram for every program. The tool to generate diagram is currently part of the vscode extension for ballerina. It's documented here. https://v1-0.ballerina.io/learn/tools-ides/vscode-plugin/gra...
Ah, cool! Then I agree, more example services showing code + diagram side by side would be great.
Re: Ballerina, a language with structural type system
#28I've been to several dozen technology conferences the past two years and these folks show up with a fancy large booth and nice swag and I'm simply amazed at the presentation and effort they've put into this undertaking. My understanding is that the primary motivation all of this is consultancy work in India.
It's a clever approach. Developers love to jump on new languages.
They do, this is why I would never bring a consultant on board who suggests a new language could solve the problems. Everybody loves it but after the easy 90% are done I am stuck with a niche language.
Thus, I am not sure that this marketing does not backfire.
Re: Ballerina, a language with structural type system
#29Another half baked wso2 product.
Re: Ballerina, a language with structural type system
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
SCADE provides textual and graphical views that are synchronized and it's widely used in industrial critical embedded software such as airplane in airbus.
Why (do you think) is it only used there and hasn't made its way too the main stream (yet)?
Disclaimer: Huge personal hunch, might be down-voted to hell for writing this...
I think that languages like this don't go mainstream because people like/want to write code, and anything that does not help to actually write code is seen as an hindrance. The main feedback I've heard about this kind of tool is "it's clunky, it's a pain to write code with". Guess what ? It's a good thing IMO.
For this to go mainstream, the whole software industry would have to go through a major revolution by shifting its focus from "writing code" to "deliver a working product". We should acknowledge that "writing code" is one tool among others, and may be not even the primary one (I personally think that specification engineering is the most important one).
In the field of critical embedded software, this has happened that's why it took off.
Another clue of that is for instance the Event-B/Atelier B that is intensively used in the railway/metro world (Paris line 14 was made with it, 2 bugs found in 15 years). While doing B, you get a broad specification you refine along the way into smaller problems. Writing code is actually the last step you do, when you are sure that all pieces fit together.