miniblog.

"Awesome error messages for Dotty" https://scala-lang.org/blog/2016/10/14/dotty-errors.html (exploring Elm/Rust influenced compiler error messages in Scala!)

Twitter is writing their own Scala compiler, with a parallel type checker!

The challenge with literate programming is separating the important details from glue code. Some code is boring or self-documenting.

Gotham, a new web framework for Rust, has been released! https://gotham.rs/blog (nice to see more web options on stable Rust)

I don't think it's possible to make much money in smartphone apps now. Prices are low, users rarely install new ones, and much competition.

I've finally changed my avatar from a glider from Conway's game of life. It was just too confusing to see other users with the same avatar.

Very true! This is why tools that generate code from diagrams/specs don't allow you to ignore the fine details. They feel like coding. https://twitter.com/KevlinHenney/status/3361631527

Defining a lisp with 6 primitives is neat, but it's not enough to be general purpose. No I/O. Are there minimalist PLs that are usable?

Great point: the big difference between futuristic visions and their results is often how well things work.

Fun blog post on implementing a small programming language, including a tiny and readable type checker! https://blog.mgechev.com/2017/08/05/typed-lambda-calculus-create-type-checker-transpiler-compiler-javascript/

How do different text editors represent the file being edited? CodeMirror has interesting tree structure of lines:

There's now an Emacs plugin for highlighting prose according to the part of speech!

Great thread: what if you allow enemy bullets to go offscreen and pass through arbitrary memory on a gameboy?

I'm impressed how often ancient elisp code just works. For example, here's some Smalltalk narrowing from 1991!

Interesting, candid discussion on when you might want to change the class of an object, focusing on Common Lisp: