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Comment by ncmncm | Hacker News Reader

What I need to know about a language: Does it do static types? Does it depend on GC? Can I pass functions to functions? Can I build an aggregate by listing the members, and pass it around? Can I vary the implementation of a function according to the types passed, as determined at compile time?

If your description just lists (howsoever appealing) platitudes, I don't get the answers I need.

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It is dynamicly typed with optional validators built-in. The cool part (and also the main weakness) is usage of resizable array-based vectors for all composite data types. Other distinguishing traits are RC-based GC, no higher-order functions (but ability to pass function pointers), direct memory access via BASIC-like poke. Original Euphoria language wasn't a scripting one, more like C on steroids (for MS-DOS), and its main usage was game prototyping.

> usage of resizable array-based vectors for all composite data types

Doesn’t this describe many of the modern languages - python’s lists, ruby’s arrays, etc...? Or is the cool part the lack of more specialized classes like dict or set?

Python, actually, is older than Euphoria. :) The cool part is the focus on cache-local data structure first. Way more popular scripting languages like JS and Lua use hash tables as their primary data structures, Python and Ruby offer arrays as secondary option, but focus on using structs (classes) everywhere. Euphoria answer to this is to use arrays of cells for everything and enum your way out of situations where you need to group things.

Exactly. What sets it apart. The current landing page screams the answer: nothing.

Okay, the design whispers to me that "lack of community/ecosystem" sets it apart.

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