Mercurial Hosting > luan

local Luan = require "luan:Luan.luan"
local error = Luan.error
local Io = require "luan:Io.luan"
local Http = require "luan:http/Http.luan"
local Shared = require "site:/lib/Shared.luan"
local head = Shared.head or error()
local header = Shared.header or error()


return function()
	Io.stdout = Http.response.text_writer()
%>
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		<title>Why Luan?</title>
	</head>
	<body>
<%		header() %>
		<div content>

		<h1>Why Luan?</h1>

		<p>Luan is designed for simplicity and readability.  What makes its extreme simplicity possible is that it is a pure scripting language as Ousterhout envisioned in his paper <a href="scripting.pdf">Scripting: Higher Level Programming for the 21st Century</a> (1998).  Luan is tightly coupled with Java, with Luan for scripting (writing applications) and Java for writing libraries.  Compare this to a language like Python.  While Python is a nice language, it is optimal neither for scripting nor for writing libraries.  Python sits in the middle as a compromise.  Ousterhout's vision is to use the optimal tool for each task.  Luan is an uncompromising scripting language while Java is ideal for writing libraries.</p>

		<p>Luan rejects the complexity of modern software.  It is mature software that I have been using for years for web programming.  Whether Luan will appeal to you depends on who you are.  So I will address different groups of people.</p>

		<h2>For Moderns</h2>

		<p>I define Moderns as members of depraved modern culture.  They will hate Luan and shouldn't use it.  This is because they are evil people who love complexity and hate simplicity.  They worship their own insane ideas and ideologies while ignoring practical real-world concerns.  This is taken to an extreme in Silicon Valley where the world's worst software is produced.</p>

		<h2>For Mennonites</h2>

		<p>Here I am addressing Mennonites who reject modern culture, and so are not part of modern culture.</p>

		<p>Mennonites describe themselves as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_people">plain people</a> reflecting their preference for plain and simple dress, and plain and simple churches.  I have also noticed that Mennonites prefer plain and simple tools for their work.  Luan is a plain and simple programming language, so it should appeal to Mennonites.</p>

		<p>As a follower of the Old Testament, I learned a little Hebrew, and I was struck by how plain and simple the Hebrew of the Old Testament is.  I love this writing style.  Profound ideas are expressed in simple and direct language.  Luan is designed to enable this style in programming.  In addition, I have <a href="https://mikraite.arkian.net/The-Old-Testament-on-Programming-tp1923.html">applied</a> the wisdom of the Old Testament to my programming and to Luan's design.</p>

		<h2>For Japanese</h2>

		<p>Japan is the only remaining country that I know of that values quality.  The Japanese understand that quality is the result of keeping things clean and simple, and of continuous improvement.  I have applied these things to Luan.  I discussed how Japanese ideas apply to my programming <a href="https://mikraite.arkian.net/Core-Programming-Principles-tp1237.html">here</a>.  I think you can see all of these principles in my code.</p>

		<p>Western software does not follow these ideas.  Instead it just continuously gets more complicated and unreliable.  In contrast, Luan has been getting simpler and more reliable over the years as a result of continuous improvement.  You cannot expect to achieve Japanese standards of quality and reliability if you use modern western software.  So use Luan instead.</p>

		<h2>For Arkians</h2>

		<p>Traditional Anabaptists (like Mennonites) and the Japanese are the only two group that I know of that aren't part of depraved modern culture.  There may be individuals from other groups that aren't depraved, but the group that these individuals belong to is depraved.  Since I am not Japanese or Anabaptist, and I want to belong to a non-depraved group, I started my own group called <a href="https://www.arkian.net/">Arkians</a>.  Decent Christians may want to become Anabaptist.  Decent people who aren't Japanese or Christian should probably become Arkian.  If you don't belong to a decent group, then there isn't much point to using decent tools like Luan.</p>

		<p>I don't need to provide much of an argument for Arkians to use Luan since there aren't many of us and since Luan so clearly reflects Arkian values.  Nothing is a clearer rejection of modern culture than creating good things, and Luan is an ideal tool for writing good software.  This is why members of modern culture hate Luan so much.</p>

		</div>
	</body>
</html>
<%
end
author	Franklin Schmidt <fschmidt@gmail.com>
date	Thu, 09 Jan 2025 18:06:23 -0700
parents	50e570b598b2
children