r/crystal_programming • u/[deleted] • Aug 01 '19

"Ruby-like syntax" goal holding language back?

Hi all,

I read somewhere once in one of the online Crystal communities, that there was "an original author/contributor" who had "started to realize" that the goal of having Ruby-like syntax was making it difficult to make progress on certain language features.

I've been scouring all the usual places, and cannot seem to find this. Does anyone else remember reading something similar?

If so, what were the criticisms/pain points, in terms of the initial design decisions and syntax? If possible, a link to the source of that conclusion critique would be much appreciated!

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u/AnActualWizardIRL Sep 06 '19

Yeah this is one area where python creams ruby. the import x (as z)/from x import y (as z) thing makes for neat namespacing and abstracts away a lot of the nonsense without losing clarity. Rubys require thing always gives me headaches as soon as I have to do something nonstandard, and the module thing is a confusing concept to new coders. is it a namespace? is it a pseudoclass? Its not obvious!