Hacker News Reader

Comment by maxhallinan | Hacker News Reader

Not trolling here: what do you mean by "not used for programming a computer"? I'm genuinely confused because I would think that all uses of a programming language qualify as programming a computer. Do you mean applications of Haskell to domains that are messier than compilers and other classic computer science problems?

View on HN

OP means applications that aren't used by developers for development related tasks. I.e. someone who doesn't know how to program could use it.

This is a strange distinction to make when evaluating a programming language. I can understand an evaluation that begins like "I need a language that is useful for solving x problem" or even "problem of x type". But if you're trying to evaluate Haskell in general terms, a list of the Haskell apps targeted at a non-technical audience is a dubious heuristic.

I'm pretty sure what OP is considering is that Haskell is well known for its usage in theory heavy works (where the domain is mostly well-specified, and possibly even beautifully so), but not well known for applications where you have to make unspecified, awkward, temporary and sometimes nonsensical updates (anything that so much as breathes near a layman). And given haskell's background as a research language, it makes sense for it to be biased towards the former. So the question is, by how much?

I disagree. C++ is hard to use too (for different reasons), but tons of non-programming related applications are written in it. Most problems aren't programming related, so it makes sense to measure a PL by its effectiveness in non-programming related applications.

I suspect (not OP) a tool with a target audience different than developers.

OP probably means not for compilers.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com