11–20 of 229 posts
This reminds me quite a bit of Groovy, just with a different compiler back end (outputting Java source instead of bytecode). However, this makes me wonder what the point is. Groovy is more-or-less source compatible with Java already (a valid Java program is also a valid Groovy program), so I'm not sure what Extend brings to the table.
What is Xtend supposed to provide that Scala doesn't already provide? It looks like their setting out to solve a subset of the problems that Scala deals with already.
Oh, it looks like Xtend is to Java as Coffeescript is to Javascript. Although I'm sceptical about it compiling to Java source. Java seems to be going through a period of experimentation, and alternative Java-like and JVM languages. Interesting times.
obj.compute instead of obj.compute()
That seems silly. The optional semicolons also irritate me.
----------------- (Added)
I imagine a committee of Java developers, in a penthouse boardroom at Oracle, meeting with management to discuss Java's descent into disuse.
"Lets make Java more concise," suggests a senior developer.
"Yes! Lets get rid of the parenthesis like Ruby!"
"And the semicolons like Javascript."
All falls silent. Everyone stares at the programmer.
"But... But..." stammers an important board member. "I thought we needed those."
"We could make them optional."
"Yeah, we'll be multi-paradimatic like Perl!"
And so Extend was born. A cargo cult at its best.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. Pre-Kotlin, I would have thought "hey, neat", but now it seems like we're on the verge of a number of half-supported half-hearted attempts at being Java.next, each with their own pros and cons. I wish that IDEA and Eclipse could have worked together on this.
yet another Scala
What you haven't written a JVM language yet? It used to be you weren't a proper programmer until you'd gotten fed up and written your own CMS or web framework. Now I guess everyone has to have their own programming language.
What is Xtend supposed to provide that Scala doesn't already provide? It looks like their setting out to solve a subset of the problems that Scala deals with already.
Unlike Scala it compiles down to Java. Depending upon how readable and sane the generated code is, I could see people working in organizations where Java is mandated write code in Xtend and then commit the generated Java code or use the generated code as base for code that get committed to official channels. Although I'm skeptical of how readable the Xtend generated Java is.
So, "Extend is for the Java Programmer". I'm curious to see how this will turn out as there are some pretty cool features in this language. (Particularly the multiple dispatch, closures and type inference). However, any Java programmers could have made the switch to Clojure or Scala to keep working with the JVM. But, Extend is different in that it generates Java code instead of JVM. So, I'm wondering who will use tha…