[adjkant]

Pyret is inspired from Racket, which starts at step 1 with functional programming. It's not about readability or getting people to learn as fast as possible to write basic code, but to try and teach core program design principles easily and build a solid base within a single semester. The syntax is not as clean as Python, but it offers much more clarity in terms of testing, signatures, and offers a very interesting method of writing loops with map/filter/foldr.

I have a bias here, as I help teach an introductory course using DrRacket, and many of my colleagues are very aware of Pyret, some even helping to develop it. In one semester, however, we have students with a full understanding of recursion, linked lists, many other common data structures, anonymous functions, functions as data, and understanding of map/filter/fold and how to use them. The class is specifically aimed at people who do not have prior programming skills, and works very well in my experience. Yes, it is a lot, but it builds an incredible base, and if taught to build on itself slowly, is actually very minimal conceptually. The optional features in Pyret are probably allowed with that in mind.

One of its weaknesses, arguably, is that it doesn't look like much else out there in common use, since it's a Scheme. This syntax is an attempt to try and make the same ideas translate to other languages easier, such as Python/Java.

[baldfat]

> arguably, is that it doesn't look like much else out there in common use, since it's a Scheme.

That is a beauty of Lisp especially Racket. Every thought is explicitly inside a bracket.

I am a self-taught programmer started with Assembly Z80, Pascal etc.. I mostly work with R now a days and I was struggling with R to get to the next level. I picked up a book and learned Racket and the convergence of R and Racket was totally unexpected. I missed all the Scheme influence in R and most R programmer in the past didn't use that part of the language. So as a learner them brackets are golden especially for learning concepts.

[emidln]

If the goal is to teach functional programming with testing and signatures, is the awkward syntax (that isn't really very close to C#, Java, or Python) better than a set of macros on top of typed Racket?

It seems like it'd be easy to define a typedracket-derived #lang where you had to write:

    (define (sum a b) : [-> Integer Integer Integer]
      (where (= (sum 0 1) 1)
             (= (sum 2 2) 4))
      (+ a b))

And make the type signature and where clause non-optional with at least a single test.

[adjkant]

I think that's a very valid question. I think Pyret is attempting to reach out to people who may not view Lisp's favorably and still convey many of the valuable concepts. Whether or not it is the right approach or if it will translate properly is yet to be tested.

[skrishnamurthi]

It's not better [1], it's different. There's Typed Racket for people who want that. But many people suffer from visceral negative reactions when confronted with any kind of parenthetical syntax. Pyret was initially designed for them, and has since added on several of its own innovations.

[1] I, personally, love parenthetical syntax.

[fridsun]

The syntax looks really Haskell to me, so it's not that awkward.