Do you plan on using the Factor programming language?

Question

Do you plan on using Factor? Have you looked at it? Checked it out. Do you understand stack oriented programming?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_0QlhYlS8g

Answer 1

I can't talk about factor specifically, but I have done a lot with HP Calculators. The stack-based RPN language it comes with is quite sophisticated. A ton of software has been written for these calculators.

http://www.hpcalc.org/

Answer 2

Factor looks interesting, but it badly needs more introductory tutorials and articles.

Answer 3

fun for aside language based stack a in point the see don't I but, Forth resembles it and briefly Factor studied I.

Answer 4

I am considering using Factor for my next big non-work project. I was trying to choose between Factor, OCaml, D and Python. Normally, Python is my language of choice, but for this I'm looking for something different. I was considering D (I used C++ for a good many years and wanted to use D as a cleaner C++), but it doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for really.

That leaves OCaml and Factor and I'm having a tough time deciding. OCaml would be slightly easier for me to get to grips with, as my concatenative programming is a bit rusty and I also quite like the language a lot, but Factor keeps drawing me in too (and I'm a big fan of concatenative languages). Hrm indecision..

UPDATE: I have since decided to learn Factor properly and use it for my upcoming large personal project. In the meantime, I am working on some of the problems from Programming Challenges in Factor.

UPDATE 2: Factor didn't quite cut it.. Not because of the language, the language is great and I recommend everyone to take a look at it. The reason was Qt bindings. This was an important deal breaker for me. I would bind Qt myself and contribute it, but then I have two projects instead of one and I simply don't have the time. So, sorry Factor. I wrote the code in C++ instead, but I'm now considering either porting it to Clojure or writing future code in Clojure.

Answer 5

I intend to learn it after finishing my Clojure learning adventures.

UPDATE:

After many moons, I've been using Factor for some stuff lately, and I'll say it's an amazing language. The only issue is the still-standing issue related to very little in the way of GUI tools. The Factor UI toolkit is seriously lacking a lot of common things, and there are no bindings to any toolkit in existence as of this writing. This would probably be a deal breaker for any real-world desktop application.

Answer 6

I have been using Factor for a few months, and it is really an impressive language.

It feels like a blend of Forth (obviously), Smalltalk (image-based, highly reflective, "integrated" IDE), and LISP (code-as-data, syntax-level abstractions, REPL).. and to some extent, languages such as Python or Ruby, with a strong emphasis on pragmatism and openess (eg. "batteries included").

Moreover the performance seems to be important for the designers, as a lot of work have been spent on the optimizing compiler, much like the SBCL implementation of Common Lisp.

The project still suffers a bit from his youngness, with some frequent language changes, parts of the system underdocumented, and a relatively small community. But even at this stage, I think it feels mature enough to start some non trivial stuff.