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I am reading about Rebol the first time now. And I have some problems to understand what exactly it is. Just a scripting language like Python but with some mor

I am reading about Rebol the first time now. And I have some problems to understand what exactly it is. Just a scripting language like Python but with some more stuff included, mainly a cross-platform feature-rich GUI framework? And a very own syntax... Or more like an embedded programmable VM like Smalltalk? Also, http://www.red-lang.org http://www.red-lang.org was mentioned here (and I also haven't heard about it before). How does that compare?

skrebbel 14y ago
It's a programming language + standard library. The particular feature of REBOL that makes is special is the ease with which you can define your own DSL within the limits of the REBOL lexer. This allows libraries for specific purposes, such as making UIs or parsing text, to be very succinct yet readable. A bit Lisp-y but with a stronger focus on what in Lisp would be macros. When first published, REBOL was way ahead of its time, having explicit support for a variety of well-designed DSLs before the term DSL even existed (or at least, was widely known). The downsides of REBOL always were its closed source commercial model and the lack of a strong community as a (probable) result therefore, plus the fact that by default, the UIs made by the built-in UI library look absolutely horrible, which isn't a big problem really but helps scare newcomers away. That one first downside seems to have been taken away now. A nice REBOL showcase is, IMHO, it's oneliner page: http://www.rebol.com/oneliners.html http://www.rebol.com/oneliners.html Plus the (excellent) associated commentary on some mailing list: http://www.xent.com/pipermail/fork/Week-of-Mon-20091109/054578.html http://www.xent.com/pipermail/fork/Week-of-Mon-20091109/0545...