L is a programming language invented by Oscar Bonilla, Tim Daly, Jr., and [Larry McVoy] from [COMPANY: BitMover]. L is a compiled-to-byte-code language compiling to Tcl byte codes and thus leveraging the entire Tcl runtime. L is designed to peacefully coexist with Tcl. L functions may call Tcl procs and vice versa. They may also coexist in the same source file. L is a static weakly typed language with int, float, string, struct, array, and hash as first-class objects. The L syntax is reminiscent of C with a tiny bit of C++ thrown in. Want to read more? Look here: http://www.bitmover.com/lm/papers/l.pdf ---- [AMG]: Has anyone played with L who would like to share his or her experiences? [RLH] Is there anything in L that we can co-opt for Tcl? [AMG]: Wasn't it the other way around? :^) Seriously, it should be very possible to embed L in a [Tcl] script, similar to how [C] can be embedded using [critcl]. And since L compiles down to the same [bytecode]s as Tcl, it should be able to [eval] a Tcl script. Tcl quoting is easier to use than C quoting, so let's hope that L has a Tcl quote mechanism, or else it could be quite difficult to embed a script. (I know; I've made the mistake of writing Tcl script inside C double quotes.) [slebetman]: What about top level byte-code compilation? L not only does this but for L to work Bitmover modified their Tcl interpreter to also do top level byte-code compilation. Any reason why this isn't done in the regular Tcl core? Bitmover's version of Tcl already does it. Interestingly the L interpreter is also a full Tcl interpreter. All they've done is added a second parser/compiler without removing the Tcl parser. The interpreter looks at the file extension to decide whether to run in Tcl or L mode. But you're allowed to switch to either mode explicitly in your programs by using the pseudo comment ''#lang(L)'' and ''#lang(tcl)''. L looks and feels a lot like C with some Perl thrown in. ''I'm not sure about the Perl, but it was specifically designed to look and feel a lot like C. I believe Larry's goal is to create a language that gives the power and flexibility of Tcl/Tk, but in a form factor that can more easily be read by a C programmer. '' ---- '''July 18, 2006''' [Arlie L. Codina] Where can I download/get L? ---- [[ [Category Language] ]]