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It is worth noting that this is from 2006. Also, he missed the main problem with Scheme (and Lisp) IMHO: language fracturing. Want to use Scheme on your proj

by dstorrs 16y ago

It is worth noting that this is from 2006. Also, he missed the main problem with Scheme (and Lisp) IMHO: language fracturing. Want to use Scheme on your project? Not so fast! Which one? PLT Scheme? Chicken? MIT? DrRacket? Gambit? TinyScheme? ...the list goes on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Scheme_implementations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Scheme_implementations Most of these are 95% interchangeable in terms of code, but there are a few differences here and there that make it hard (especially for newbies) to get help from Schemers using a different flavor.

Locke1689 16y ago
FYI DrRacket is an editor and PLT Scheme is now referred to as Racket.
- xiongchiamiov 16y ago
  DrRacket formerly being called DrScheme.
- dstorrs 16y ago
  True, my bad. It's been almost two years since I was working in Scheme, and I didn't check closely enough.
kunjaan 16y ago
>but there are a few differences here and there that make it hard (especially for newbies) to get help from Schemers using a different flavor. I don't understand the reasoning. Yes there are different variants of Scheme. All you have to do is look and ask for what you need. How does the difference make it harder for newbies to get help? Have you asked any questions in the mailing list for any of these implementations and not received a reply? Have you looked at what these languages even provide? Do you understand the difference between an editor and an implementation? What were the difference that you found confusing in the implementations? What were the criteria for your project?
- dstorrs 16y ago
  This comes off sounding needlessly aggressive, but I'll answer anyway. I was trying to pick up Scheme, and I was using PLT Scheme (now Racket). I would ask on a Scheme list / IRC channel "how do I $FOO?" Someone would say "here's some code." That code would not work under PLT because the person in question was using a different implementation with slightly different syntax or language features. I would then spend some time figuring out the exact differences -- usually not long, but it was extra friction that made it harder to get over the learning hump.
  - kunjaan 16y ago
    http://groups.google.com/group/plt-scheme http://groups.google.com/group/plt-scheme

by dstorrs 16y ago

Locke1689 16y ago

FYI DrRacket is an editor and PLT Scheme is now referred to as Racket.

xiongchiamiov 16y ago
DrRacket formerly being called DrScheme.
dstorrs 16y ago
True, my bad. It's been almost two years since I was working in Scheme, and I didn't check closely enough.

kunjaan 16y ago

>but there are a few differences here and there that make it hard (especially for newbies) to get help from Schemers using a different flavor. I don't understand the reasoning. Yes there are different variants of Scheme. All you have to do is look and ask for what you need. How does the difference make it harder for newbies to get help? Have you asked any questions in the mailing list for any of these implementations and not received a reply? Have you looked at what these languages even provide? Do you understand the difference between an editor and an implementation? What were the difference that you found confusing in the implementations? What were the criteria for your project?

dstorrs 16y ago
This comes off sounding needlessly aggressive, but I'll answer anyway. I was trying to pick up Scheme, and I was using PLT Scheme (now Racket). I would ask on a Scheme list / IRC channel "how do I $FOO?" Someone would say "here's some code." That code would not work under PLT because the person in question was using a different implementation with slightly different syntax or language features. I would then spend some time figuring out the exact differences -- usually not long, but it was extra friction that made it harder to get over the learning hump.
- kunjaan 16y ago
  http://groups.google.com/group/plt-scheme http://groups.google.com/group/plt-scheme