Why Java? Or why such a Java-esque programming language?
We didn’t set out to make the ultimate language for visual programming, we set out to make something that was: • a sketchbook for our own work, simplifying the majority of tasks that we undertake, • a teaching environment for that kind of process, and • a point of transition to more complicated or difficult languages like full-blown Java or C++ (a gateway drug to more geekier and more difficult things) At the intersection of these points is a tradeoff between speed and simplicity of use. i.e. if we didn’t care about speed, Python, Ruby or many other scripting languages would make far more sense (especially for the simplicity and education aspect of it). If we didn’t care about transition to more advanced languages, we’d get rid of the crummy C-style (well, algol, really) syntax. etc etc. Java makes a nice starting point for a sketching language because it’s far more forgiving than C++ and also allows users to export sketches for distribution via the web.
