When you learn a new language, there is a delay because every function name is slightly different and you have to look them up and remember them. This can be frustrating if you are just checking it out.
If there was a say, python module that had pythons functions implemented in nim, a pythoner could write a short program right away without pause to lookup every new function name. He can import python and use python function names he is familiar with. There could be a ruby, javascript, and c++ modules. Writing these implementations would be relatively easy and could be delegated out.
mapdog: Recreating the API of an entire standard library isn't an easy task, as each language has it's own paradigms and ways of doing things. That being said, it is certainly possible to mirror particular modules (say, python's itertools module). I've actually made a start in the past on such things, but given up due to disparities between the languages (There are simply some things in python that are too awkward to do in Nim).
Nikki: While there is the "Nim" way of doing things, that doesn't mean we can't learn from other languages, eh? As a whole, the development of computer programming has been a rather conglomerative affair, with previous languages and ideas building on new ones. It's rather short-sighted to blind one's self to other languages. Even Java (a language which I have some rather negative feelings for) does some things correctly. It doesn't do to dismiss them all without reservation.
Maybe a limited subset using 80% 20% rule so the curious can make short demonstration programs with limited time investment.
Mostly printing and strings and arrays, where the same thing has a different name.
What nim really needs is a good search engine for doco / api (imho).
It does become really tedious reopening strutils for the 9th time in a day...
This would add a ton of value to the doco.
(I can hear the 'do it then' comments, but unless I hack something up, it would be better generated).
Keyle said: What nim really needs is a good search engine for doco / api (imho). It does become really tedious reopening strutils for the 9th time in a day... This would add a ton of value to the doco. (I can hear the 'do it then' comments, but unless I hack something up, it would be better generated).
++. (online) man pages would be awesome. kind of like linuxes local man pages and linux.die.net (or whatever it is)