learning Scalaz

How many programming languages have been called Lisp in sheep’s clothing? Java brought in GC to familiar C++ like grammar. Although there have been other languages with GC, in 1996 it felt like a big deal because it promised to become a viable alternative to C++. Eventually, people got used to not having to manage memory by hand. JavaScript and Ruby both have been called Lisp in sheep’s clothing for their first-class functions and block syntax. The homoiconic nature of S-expression still makes Lisp-like languages interesting as it fits well to macros.

Recently languages are borrowing concepts from newer breed of functional languages. Type inference and pattern matching I am guessing goes back to ML. Eventually people will come to expect these features too. Given that Lisp came out in 1958 and ML in 1973, it seems to take decades for good ideas to catch on. For those cold decades, these languages were probably considered heretical or worse “not serious.”

I’m not saying Scalaz is going to be the next big thing. I don’t even know about it yet. But one thing for sure is that guys using it are serious about solving their problems. Or just as pedantic as the rest of the Scala community using pattern matching. Given that Haskell came out in 1990, the witch hunt may last a while, but I am going to keep an open mind.