RE: variable command interpretter

[Sam Tregar]

On Tue, 19 Jun 2001, Redford, John wrote:

> Paul: If they build in Python or Guile as their langauge, then you will
> likely find it impossible to change it.  The C programmer's interface to
> both of these, as well as Perl and others, is such that one gets locked in.
> This is all the more likely if the programmer makes use of the APIs for
> things other than just interfacing, like memory management.

True.  Richard Stallman had a grand vision for Guile to overcome this
boundary but it seems to have fallen by the wayside.

> The best, real-world example of a system that permits interfacing multiple
> languages is the Windows Script Host system produced by Microsoft.  This
> permits the interchangable use of Visual Basic, JScript, and Perl code.
> (There may also be a Python interface by now).  This is the kind of thing
> that you would need to study in order to usefully be able to add additional
> languages in the future.

That's one.  The Inline system for Perl is another.  With Inline::Python
and the coming-soon Inline::Guile you could convceivably create a Perl
binding for an application and seemlessly support modules written in
Python or Guile.  Inline is pretty new but I think it has great potential
to vault Perl into position as the ultimate glue language.

-sam