Re: official support for more scripting languages in gnome needed

[Ben Ford <ben kalifornia com>]

> > I think we are all getting somewhat off the subject.  The post that I originally
> > replied to proposed making perl, python and lisp *REQUIREMENTS* for gnome.  To me
> > (and at least one other), that is not an option and if you do so, you will lose
> > me as a user / developer / distributor / advocate.
>
>  Yes, I was proposing to suggest programmers writing small utilities for gnome
> to use scripting languages, that would be mean requiring user to install those
> scripting languages for running these utilities.
>
>  Currently gnome is shipped with 4 major packages that require scripting
> languages:
> * sawfish - it requires rep (a dialect of lisp) - all logic is written in lisp
> * gnucash - uses guile internally for all logic
> * sketch (vector editor) written in python
> * gimp - most of plugins are written in guile and some  in perl
>
>  Did you experienced any performance and memory issues with them that can be
> attributed to the choice of language?
>  I doubt very much..
>

I don't know.  I don't run those apps.  Actually, I take that back.  I tried sawfish
and not only was it a total bitch to compile, but it was slower than hell. It actually
took about two seconds for the window titlebar menu to pop down on a PII450 w/ 192
RAM.  Totally unacceptable.

> <snip>

>
>
>  I think you didn't try software that was written in scripting languages (may
> be you are deriving your attitude from running modperl or whatever for web).
>  Using python-based floppy disk formatting tool that is *very* intelligent and
> smart and bullet-proof won't hurt your resources at all.. That is what I was
> proposing..
>
>  And also don't forget about Emacs and vi - both of them use scripting
> languages to greatly extend functionality. Yes, they consume more resources
> than notepad, but it's obvious which one is more advanced and feature-rich.
>

I don't run those either.  Sorry =)

Regardless of whether we agree on languages, you cannot impose this on me.  As I have
said repeatedly, if you force me to run perl and python, when I don't wish to, I will
go elsewhere.  I reserve the right to choose feature-rich vs. lean and fast.

-b