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On Java, Lisp, Ruby and AI: Language explorations

• Tichy 19y ago
  What is the difference between a DSL and an API, btw? I was wondering about that lately. Except that you can make the DSL look a bit prettier in theory, aren't they basically the same thing?
  • pg 19y ago
    An API is a list of functions you can call. An embedded language (aka DSL) is a programming language adapted for a particular domain, and a programming language is more than a list of functions. It might include special types of iteration, or special syntax. It might even change the whole model of how a program is expressed, e.g. if you wrote purely declarative data-flow language for network simulations.
  • bayareaguy 19y ago
    You may find some of the discussions over at http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/search/node/DSL http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/search/node/DSL interesting. http://homepages.cwi.nl/~arie/papers/dslbib http://homepages.cwi.nl/~arie/papers/dslbib offers the following definition: A domain-specific language (DSL) is a programming language or executable specification language that offers, through appropriate notations and abstractions, expressive power focused on, and usually restricted to, a particular problem domain. which is pretty much what pg said.