[linux-audio-dev] Re: Language fanboys [was Re: light C++ set for WAV]

[Loki Davison]

On 7/21/06, Stephen Sinclair <radarsat1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I'm not so much a specific language fanboy as a languages fanboy.
> > There are so many languages out there that are outside the C, C++,
> > Java and C# bucket that offer features that people in the
> > C/C++/Java/C# camp don't even know about.
>
>
> I agree... Programming languages are amazing tools... just as natural
> languages affects how we think, programming languages affect how we
> code.
>
> However, to bring this conversation back to a thread from a few weeks
> ago, I find it interesting, and sometimes frustrating, that most new
> languages that differ from C/C++ tend to target interpreters and
> virtual machines.
>
> Does anyone know any interesting and powerful languages that can be
> used just like C? That can link to C libraries, and can be compiled to
> native machine code, and can express the same low-level concepts as C,
> but in a more powerful and intuitive way? In short, does anyone know
> any languages other than C and C++ that would be interesting for audio
> programming?
>
> This list has made of aware of FAUST and some other interesting
> examples of "meta-languages" that compile to C code. I do find this
> interesting, but I would like a more common ground: something that can
> be used in a more general-purpose way (like C), but is still useful
> for audio, realtime programming, and maybe even operating systems
> (like C).
>
> I'm not one to argue against C or C++ actually, but having experienced
> Python and other high-level languages, I find myself wanting to use
> such a syntax for natively compiled code.
>
> I suppose that one could argue that a lot of the power of these
> interpreted languages comes from the fact that they are often
> dynamically and loosely typed, which is much more difficult to express
> in optimized, compiled code. It's precisely the strong typing and
> well-defined memory usage that makes C useful for things like
> operating systems and realtime programming. I do understand that. I am
> only suggesting that maybe there is some middle-ground between the
> likes of C and Python, that happens to not be C++. Anyone?
>
> I have often wondered what I might do if I tried to design such a
> language, but I think it's just too big a task. (For now anyways.)
> And I would hate to re-invent the wheel yet again.
>
>
> Steve

For music/audio stuff you can do the dsp stuff with c and then
communicate with another process written in a higher level language,
i.e python over OSC. The LAD irc crew have been discussing using this
idea for a new sequencer/daw thing.

Loki