Re: redisplay system of emacs

[David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>]

Fabian Ezequiel Gallina <galli.87@gmail.com> writes:

> 2010/1/29 Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>:
>>
>> So, yes, it's probably fairly easy to do an Emacs-like editor using
>> another extension language etc... and the result is likely to be
>> cleaner, more efficient, better maintained code in many ways.
>> Actually such Emacs-like editors exist, using extension languages
>> like CommonLisp, OCaml, Haskell, Python, younameit.
>>
>> The problem is that they're not Emacs, so they start with a small
>> user community and it's hard for them to grow.  At some point, I've
>> considered the possibility to switch to one of those (where the
>> extension language is statically typed ;-), but ... they didn't have
>> PCL-CVS, diff-mode, Gnus, ... so it was really an uphill battle.
>> Maybe later.
>
> I think Emacs Lisp is a great extension language.

I don't think so.  It is a functional language used in a procedural
style, causing permanent changes as its ultimate purpose.  Not even with
lexical bindings.

It does automatic allocation and garbage collection, is concise and with
data structures catered to the task at hand.  Mostly.

If it were a great extension language, it would be in use outside of
Emacs.

Things like Lua would meet the bill quite better, but they are too late
in the game now.

Emacs is not a program, it is an ecosystem.  And ecosystems play by
different rules than individuals.  Emacs has not yet reached
equilibrium, the state where bit rot destroys functionality at the same
pace as new stuff gets added.

Moving that ecosystem to a different language is about as ambitious as
moving a carbon-based ecosystem to silicon-based.

You don't know where to start.

-- 
David Kastrup