[Visionaries] SilverScheme and the end of DG-Scheme

[Peter Minten]

Hi folks,

after careful consideration I've decided to take DG-Scheme out of the DotGNU
context and rename it to SilverScheme. The reason is that I don't want
SilverScheme to be as webservice focussed as for example C#, rather I want it to
be math and metadata focussed, experimenting with some new techniques (like a
very high amount of introspection). Obviously this goal makes SilverScheme fall
outside of the DotGNU project (and I don't want to create a controversie about
the controversial aspects of introspection).

This doesn't mean SilverScheme won't be a possible webservice language, however
webservice code will not have a special place in the language (aka it probably
won't be in the baselib).

Greetings,

Peter

--

PS: For the interested, here is my stand on introspection in SilverScheme.

I consider introspection a logical and inevitable thing. I also consider
introspection an advancement of computer science. If introspection allows a
proprietary company to circumvent the GPL on my code than that's bad luck for 
me.

However the risk of GPL circumvention is something like the nuclear bomb,
whereas introspection is the technique of nuclear fission, nuclear fission
didn't create the bomb, it only advanced science enough to develop the science
of building nuclear weapons. One could argue that nuclear fission science is bad
since it brought building the bomb a step closer, however it also brought a
powerful solution to the energy problem and it helped bring radation therapy a
step closer.

I believe that introspection is the first step to a substancial improvement of
programming and a great advancement of computer science.

I do understand the concerns of the opponents of introspection however, if you
apply introspection to an existing language then all the programs written in
that language become theoretically a target for a GPL circumvention attack. This
is true and I can understand that people don't like the thought that their
programs will be introspectable without their permission.

In SilverScheme there is another situation however. Introspection is an
important and integral part of the SilverScheme language, it's used for example
by the documentation mechanism. Because it's so important everybody that uses
the language should know that it's there, and what it _could_ theoretically do.
Thus SilverScheme doesn't have the situation where FS authors can say: "hey, I
don't want this introspection on my programs, this is a mean trick", by
programming in SilverScheme you yourself are placing your programs 'in danger'
of being introspected. If you don't like this don't use the language.