In 1987 Phil Wadler wrote the paper Why Calculating is Better than Scheming. It is an essay on the shortcomings of using Scheme as the programming language with which to teach beginning programmers in SICP, and how Miranda would have a better choice for teaching the software engineers of tomorrow. This was very fun for me to read, and might be for you, too, if you are interested in teaching or the history of both Haskell and Scheme.
Continue reading “Why Calculating is Better than Scheming”
Category: Link
A peasant revolt against DrScheme!
Here is an interesting thread in the PLT discussion archive discussing the want of beginning programmers only to learn things that are clearly useful!
(surely via the PLT Discussion list, but I can’t recall or find it…)
Carneades
Carneades is an argument mapping application, with a graphical user interface, and a software library for building applications supporting various argumentation tasks.
The interesting thing about this is that it is written in both JavaFX and R6RS Scheme!
(via comp.lang.scheme)
An Improved Approach to the Sieve of Eratosthenes
For an explanation and easy improvemnts see Colin Runciman’s functional pearl “The primes using The Sieve of Eratosthenes”.
Found here in PDF or PS.
(via the PLT Discussion List)
International Lisp Conference 2009
The International Lisp Conference 2009 will be taking place at M.I.T., in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from March 22 to March 25, 2009.
Addendum: 2/4/9
All of the details are now out on the site.
Haskell Super Mario Bros
Here is a post on a reimplementation of Super Mario Bros written in Haskell.
(via The Little Calculist)
A few good WordPress links
Ben has some good links on WordPress resources here
GoboLinux
GoboLinux is a modular Linux distribution: it organizes the programs in your system in a new, logical way. Instead of having parts of a program thrown at /usr/bin, other parts at /etc and yet more parts thrown at /usr/share/something/or/another, each program gets its own directory tree, keeping them all neatly separated and allowing you to see everything that’s installed in the system and which files belong to which programs in a simple and obvious way.
Gobo looks like it might be a nice Linux to try out!
(via Carl’s REBOL Blog)
A programming interview checklist
Leppie posted this great interview checklist. I’m mirroring it here so that I will always have a copy.
- Ask to see a portfolio, if not available online
- Ask to see some of the code of the best/lead developer, this will be the best expectation
- Ask to see the version control log and unit test log, dont fall for ‘yes, we have/do that’
- Ask that the best/lead developer be present at the interview
- Make sure the best/lead developer is better than you, else you will be doing his job
- Ask to see some run of the mill code, any random snippet
- Ask them to be very precise on the responsibilities of the applied position, make them contractual
- Ask to look at their DB structures
- Ask to see architectural and design documentation
LINQ for R6RS Scheme
The LINQ Project is a codename for a set of extensions to the .NET Framework that encompass language-integrated query, set, and transform operations. It extends C# and Visual Basic with native language syntax for queries and provides class libraries to take advantage of these capabilities.
Leppie has covertly added LINQ support to another language, R6RS Scheme!
- The Code; including documentation, tests, and examples
- A post about it
- A comp.lang.scheme post discussing part of its implementation
- Where I heard about it