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What We’ve Built Is a Computational Language

2 points by lainon 7y ago

mimixco 7y ago
One could make the point that Wolfram language is really a library of cloud functions which require their proprietary cloud service to be useful. It also looks a lot like a Lisp with M-expressions. While a lot of those functions are impressive, what makes Wolfram a non-starter for me is the fact that you can't build a deployable app with it with anything but a notebook interface. A notebook might be great for a researcher but it's not a good interface for many other kinds of programs. I also have an issue with Wolfram's documentation or the lack thereof. Because the functions take weird and unpredictable arguments, it's difficult to wrap one's head around what might fit where. This is a strong contrast to Lisp where the meanings of arguments are unambiguous, encouraging exploration and invention because you can keep the language "in your head." Wolfram creates dependencies on their cloud sever and their doc which will always make it niche.
- techgipper 7y ago
  >>you can't build a deployable app with it with anything but a notebook interface. A notebook might be great for a researcher but it's not a good interface for many other kinds of programs. There are several IDEs one can use: https://www.wolfram.com/developer/resources/ https://www.wolfram.com/developer/resources/ >>I also have an issue with Wolfram's documentation or the lack thereof. There are literally tens of thousands of pages of documentation? https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ https://reference.wolfram.com/language/
  - mimixco 7y ago
    What I meant is the interface of the built app, not an IDE. Whenever I bring up Wolfram doc, someone tells me there are thousands of pages. I know that. Have you read any of them? They're not like any programmer doc I've ever seen. Instead of explaining principles and rules, they just give a lot of examples. It's not really helpful and it helps cement my position that Wolfram is more of a library than a language.

2 points by lainon 7y ago

One could make the point that Wolfram language is really a library of cloud functions which require their proprietary cloud service to be useful. It also looks a lot like a Lisp with M-expressions. While a lot of those functions are impressive, what makes Wolfram a non-starter for me is the fact that you can't build a deployable app with it with anything but a notebook interface. A notebook might be great for a researcher but it's not a good interface for many other kinds of programs. I also have an issue with Wolfram's documentation or the lack thereof. Because the functions take weird and unpredictable arguments, it's difficult to wrap one's head around what might fit where. This is a strong contrast to Lisp where the meanings of arguments are unambiguous, encouraging exploration and invention because you can keep the language "in your head." Wolfram creates dependencies on their cloud sever and their doc which will always make it niche.

techgipper 7y ago
>>you can't build a deployable app with it with anything but a notebook interface. A notebook might be great for a researcher but it's not a good interface for many other kinds of programs. There are several IDEs one can use: https://www.wolfram.com/developer/resources/ https://www.wolfram.com/developer/resources/ >>I also have an issue with Wolfram's documentation or the lack thereof. There are literally tens of thousands of pages of documentation? https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ https://reference.wolfram.com/language/
- mimixco 7y ago
  What I meant is the interface of the built app, not an IDE. Whenever I bring up Wolfram doc, someone tells me there are thousands of pages. I know that. Have you read any of them? They're not like any programmer doc I've ever seen. Instead of explaining principles and rules, they just give a lot of examples. It's not really helpful and it helps cement my position that Wolfram is more of a library than a language.