Pixie
- lisp
- own vm
- compiled using RPython tool chain
- RPython – reduced python
- used in PyPy project
- has own tracing JIT
- runs on os x, linux, ARM (!)
- very similar to clojure, but deviates from it where he wanted to for performance reasons
- has continuations, called stacklets
- has an open-ended object system; deftype, etc
- also wanted good foreign function interface (FFI) for calling C functions
- wants to be able to do :import Math.h :refer cosine
- ended up writing template that can be called recursively to define everything you want to import
- writes C file using template that has everything you need and then compiles it and then uses return values with the type info, etc
- you can actually call python from pixie, as well (if you want)
- not ready for production yet, but a fun project and PRs welcome
History of Programming Languages for 2 Voices
- David Nolen and Michael Bernstein
- a programming language “mixtape”
Big Bang: The World, The Universe, and The Network in the Programming Language
- Matthias Felleisen
- worst thought you can have: your kids are in middle school
- word problems in math are not interesting, they’re boring
- can use image placement and substitution to create animations out of word problems
- mistake to teach children programming per se. they should use programming to help their math, and math to help their programming. but no programming on its own
- longitudinal study: understanding a function, even if you don’t do any other programming ever, means a higher income as an adult
- can design curriculum taking kids from middle school (programming + math) to high school (scheme), college (design programs), to graduate work (folding network into the language)
