Lambda the Ultimate

The proceedings of the International Lisp Conference 2002 are now freely available for download here. A selection of video-recorded talks are also downloadable (currently the Robocup ones). ILC2002 was previously covered on LtU in a great report from Oleg.
Enjoy!

Now, I don't really know what open-sourcing a language means, but this is obviously an important question...

The Java language specification and the JVM spec are both public. The Sun JVM isn't open source, but there are many other Java VMs out there.

The community process is controlled by Sun, but then again some process must exist if you want the language to remain cohesive, and someone or some group will have to control this process.

So it seems that this is ultimately about community dynamics. Languages create communities. Communities shape the way languages evolve.

Normally, I wouldn't link to this thread since it isn't specifically about programming languages.

However, programming languages are being mentioned, and static analysis tools discussed (esp. SPARK). Moreover, I think the dynamics of the debate are quite similar to the dynamics of the ongoing (and eternal) debate in the discussion group regarding static typing. Perhaps, seeing this sort of quicksand action hapenning in a different context can help us learn how to focus PL-related debates and make them more productive.

Note: I am not trying to rain on anyone's parade. In fact, I think LtU is better than most other forums when it comes to this kind of debate. But non-productive debates on these issues are a common problem in PL discussions.

Nothing really new for the LtU audience in this interview with the Pragmatic Programmers, but it is interesting to read their views on programming language. This quote is nice, even if you aren't a Lisp fan:

Ultimately, it comes down to ease of expression. If I can express myself in code at a level closer to the problem domain, then I'm going to be more effective, and my code is likely to be easier to maintain and extend. Paul Graham makes a big deal out of the way Lisp helped him while building the software that became Yahoo Stores, and he's right. These languages, applied properly, are a strategic advantage. I know some companies are using them with great success. And you know -- they're keeping quiet about it.

They also have an interesting take on the publishing industry, which certainly in academic circles is having a harder time justifying its existence.

It's interesting to see how Ada that once influenced C++, Java and eventually C# (e.g., generics, strong typing) is now being influenced by them (e.g., interfaces, container library, integration of tasking and inheritance).

As I've said here before, the Ada design process is quite interesting, seeing as most Ada users are quite conservative -- due to the fact thar they are building mission critical software -- while the language designers try to move the language forward without alienating its user base.

True, this isn't about programming languages per se, but still an important work that some of you may want to check out.

In the Spirit of C, by Greg Colvin.

A somewhat biased and over enthusiastic overview of the evolution of C and ilk.

I am sure LtU readers will find a lot they disagree with. I suggest starting with the quote from the ANSI C Rationale...

• ICLP'04 early registration is open. The accepted papers look intgeresting.
• Jeremy Zawodny wonders whether the perl community is broken, and asks about the communities that formed around other scripting languages.