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Nim 1.0

nim-lang.org

161–170 of 308 posts

Re: Nim 1.0

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IN PARTICULAR,I DO NOT LIKE A PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE SCREAMING AT ME.(well, the last versions seem calmer)

For some reason, a lot of fortran programmers insist on screaming, even though it’s been optional for 3 decades. I mostly program in python these days...

Backwards compatibility.

Re: Nim 1.0

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree in quite a few respects. I think there's not much merit in discussing "C-flavored Python" as a description of nim, as that description seems just wrong. Aside from significant whitespace, I don't find that many similarities with Python syntax. Describing Nim as non-functional is misleading. Nim does have functional constructs and is a mixed-paradigm language involving both procedural and functional element…

In fairness, Python is the first language the Nim team compares itself to in the first paragraph of their homepage.

Well: Nim is similar to Python in many respects, it's just not "C-flavored Python".

It has significant whitespace like Python. But since it has a lot of language constructs that are different from Python, it's a bit tedious to try to otherwise compare the syntax a great deal, and it has many elements to its syntax that are quite unique.

Saying that Nim is statically typed whereas Python is dynamically typed is exactly a feature that's a slightly unfortunate pick for trying to contrast the two, because type inference is trying to bridge the gap and give you something that's a bit in-between in terms of how it feels to the programmer.

Nim is similar to Python in that (a) It's very cleaned-up and allows you to do a lot of stuff and complex stuff with little code, without sacrificing clarity and readability. (b) It puts the programmer in a cognitive mode where he can think first and foremost about the problem at hand and not have to concentrate on the programming language so much. (c) It gently guides the programmer towards good programming practice without being patronizing. (d) It has a fast learning curve,...

Essentially all the things that make Python great are found here as well. But nim gets there on its own, not by replicating elements found in Python a lot. It's very unique in a way that makes nim a great choice of language in situations where Python isn't (like systems programming or writing code for the Browser ecosystem).

Re: Nim 1.0

#163
Why Nim ? As someone who put a lot of efforts in some personal project and understands what it takes to build a new language, I wonder why did the Nim's authors did it in the first place ? Just for the sake of it ? To make money ? For the fun ?

I'd like to know (as Nim doesn't seem to be backed by big dollars)

Re: Nim 1.0

#164

Congrats to the Nim team. One thing that is frustrating for anyone hearing about Nim for the first time is that it's really hard to look at what appears to be yet another slightly different take on Rust or Go and intuitively understand why it exists. There is absolutely a grid that can be populated: who started this, is it corporately affiliated, what languages is it similar to, what is the motivation of its creators…

> yet another slightly different take on Rust or Go

From Wikipedia article of each language:

  Rust: First appeared    July 7, 2010; 9 years ago
  Go:   First appeared    November 10, 2009; 9 years ago
  Nim:  First appeared    2008; 11 years ago

Re: Nim 1.0

#165
post #163

Why Nim ? As someone who put a lot of efforts in some personal project and understands what it takes to build a new language, I wonder why did the Nim's authors did it in the first place ? Just for the sake of it ? To make money ? For the fun ? I'd like to know (as Nim doesn't seem to be backed by big dollars)

It compiles to C which compiles to everything. You don't have that with Rust or Go

Re: Nim 1.0

#167
Love Nim !

Key points for me:

- familiar, easy to read syntax

- great performance

- standalone executables / ease of deployment

- easy interfacing with C and C++ code

I would love to see its community grow and see more available libs.

Re: Nim 1.0

#168
post #38

Shameless plug, but by a nice coincidence, Manning has a discount on all printed books today. Among them is my book, Nim in Action, available for $25. If you're interested in Nim it's a great way to learn :) It was published in 2017 but we've ensured Nim is compatible with it (all book examples are in Nim's test suite), so apart from some minor deprecation warnings all examples should continue to work. Grab a copy he…

I bought a copy of the book a few months back (and haven't yet found time to read it fully, I can write a lot of programs just after reading a first few chapters), will Manning upgrade it for a newer version for Nim 1.0 ?

> will Manning upgrade it for a newer version for Nim 1.0 ?

The version of the book you bought (and which is still on sale) is compatible with Nim v1 and it is still relevant, no need for another version anytime soon.

Re: Nim 1.0

#169

Great that it's here. I tried Nim around 8-9 months ago, and left it because I didn't want to work with a language that wasn't stable yet. Guess I'll give it a visit again.

> I didn't want to work with a language that wasn't stable yet.

IME, the language was quite stable since version 0.19, which was released one year ago.

But I know that people don't trust some random bloke on the internet, they want to see 1.0 before they dive in. I had the same concern when I first heard about Nim (I think at that time Nim was at v0.17).

Re: Nim 1.0

#170

Congrats to the Nim team. One thing that is frustrating for anyone hearing about Nim for the first time is that it's really hard to look at what appears to be yet another slightly different take on Rust or Go and intuitively understand why it exists. There is absolutely a grid that can be populated: who started this, is it corporately affiliated, what languages is it similar to, what is the motivation of its creators…

> yet another slightly different take on Rust or Go From Wikipedia article of each language: Rust: First appeared July 7, 2010; 9 years ago Go: First appeared November 10, 2009; 9 years ago Nim: First appeared 2008; 11 years ago

The real question is what it offers over OCaml (1996). Nim people talk about GC being "optional" but have never been able to tell a clear story about what this does and doesn't mean (D has the same problem). Aside from that, even if the language puts everything together in a more polished package than its predecessors (and I've no idea whether Nim does or not), what's the unique selling point that would make it stand out?
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