[Sisc-users] Re: [bigloo] [Ann] SchemeScript 1.0.0 released!

[Dominique Boucher]

Hans,

> Why should I prefere SchemeScript to emacs scheme mode?

Because it's way cooler than Emacs, of course! ;-) 

Seriously... SchemeScript is not necessarily meant as a replacement for
Emacs. I see it as a complement to Emacs. If you are happy with Emacs, then
SchemeScript may not be for you. 

When I started working on SchemeScript, I was an XEmacs guy. But I had to
switch between Eclipse and XEmacs way too often (Eclipse simply rocks for
Java development compared to XEmacs). Also, I wanted to learn the Eclipse
Plugin infrastructure. So I decided to develop a good Scheme editor (not a
simple-minded one) for Eclipse. I don't use XEmacs anymore for Scheme
editing. 

Here are a number of other reasons why you would prefer SchemeScript:

1. Some people are allergic to Emacs/XEmacs. SchemeScript provides a very
nice alternative.
2. Eclipse is (almost) everywhere. A good Scheme editor in Eclipse was
clearly missing.
3. SchemeScript has a lot of features for serious Kawa developers. It has
access to the JDT (Java Development Tools), making code completion on Java
classes/methods possible. 
4. Trying to convince hardcore Java developers to use Scheme if they have to
switch to a dedicated environment is a challenging task. If they can start
in a more familiar environment, the task becomes easier. (This strategy
worked at Nu Echo, at least).

But YMMV.

Dominique