PL Predictions for 2012

Summary: another year of broken lexical scope and broken type systems.

• There will be a new language with broken lexical scope (remember, it's a criterion for success).
• A GWT-like, 80's style, object-oriented GUI framework will make Dart a major player in web apps.

Happy new year!

Looking back at predictions for 2011

Let's take a look at my PL Predictions for 2011:

▶ JSON will be the default format for new internet APIs.

I'm not sure how to corroborate this one, but I think it's true. The most significant piece of evidence I have is that IBM even developed JSONx, a standard for representing JSON as XML.

▶ As more people use JSON, we'll see a XML renaissance, as we - for the first time - discover that XML actually gets some things right.

Didn't really happen, AFAICS. But there's this post: Why XML won’t die: XML vs. JSON for your API which says: "not everything in the world is a programming-language object". +1 to that.

▶ GHC will get typed type-level programming and end this highly embarrassing state of untypedness.

Strike!

▶ We'll have a verified compiler-and-OS toolchain for compiling and running some kinds of apps. It won't be x86-based.

Unfortunately, I didn't really track this issue in 2011. There's SAFE, and maybe the O'Caml folks have something to show.

▶ All kinds of stuff targetting JavaScript.

Yeah, well, that was easy. My favorite is Emscripten.

▶ Split stacks and maybe some scheduler improvements will be shown competitive with green threads in the millions-of-threads!!1! (anti-)scenario.
Nobody did this AFAIK, but I still think it's true. Maybe next year.

▶ some insanely great new PL for 2011

Kernel!

So, although most of the predictions were rather cautious, I'm satisified with the outcome.

PL Predictions for 2011

• JSON will be the default format for new internet APIs.
• As more people use JSON, we'll see a XML renaissance, as we - for the first time - discover that XML actually gets some things right. No really.
• GHC will get typed type-level programming and end this highly embarrassing state of untypedness. ;)
• We'll have a verified compiler-and-OS toolchain for compiling and running some kinds of apps. It won't be x86-based.
• All kinds of stuff targetting JavaScript.
• Split stacks and maybe some scheduler improvements will be shown competitive with green threads in the millions-of-threads!!1! (anti-)scenario.

I'd really like to predict some insanely great new PL for 2011...