ScrapScript on HackerShow

Languages and libraries

functional programming language

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A tiny functional language for sharable software

Shown by surprisetalk on Apr 26, 2023. Click the card to turn it over.

503points

135comments

#55of 3,109 in 2023

Top 2%of 2023 by points

How HN took it

CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments

16 positive, 33 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 12 critical, out of 62 comments about the project. Thread score +0.16.

Idea: 11 for, 6 againstDesign: 1 for, 2 againstDocs: 0 for, 2 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 against

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

Content-addressed hashing and Unison-like ideas are appealing
From 3 comments
- Looks extremely fun. Coming from nix background, content addressability of stuff is a huge win. Looking forward to be able to play with this.
  VTimofeenko on HN
- Author of a framework that also stores it's code in IPFS for easy sharing (https://github.com/yazz/yazz). ScrapScript is a really nice concept with how it stores code. I…
  zubairq on HN
- This is incredible. I’ve been thinking a lot about personal software systems and a hypothesis that I have is that simpler code sharing/versioning mechanisms is key to greater…
  zephraph on HN
Concept is exciting and cool
From 3 comments
- It's late and I'm tired but this is one of the most interesting things I've seen in a while.
  andybak on HN
- This is nuts and incredibly cool.
  noman-land on HN
- Super cool!!
  dangoodmanUT on HN
Typed, JSON-like language for sending programs
From 1 comment
- Just think of it as more powerful JSON :) You can send things around without converting everything into strings and objects that don't quite fit your use-case. Plus you have the…
  surprisetalk on HN

Code not open source yet
From 2 comments
- Looks fun, but doesn't look like it will be open source. That's a shame, since it considerably raises the risk of adopting such a platform.
  haolez on HN
- Did I miss the reference to the license? Looks interesting though. Would like play with this when it's released.
  leke on HN
Custom esoteric syntax is a barrier
From 1 comment
- Neat but... Someone will make a crummier version of this in a language which doesn't feature parts looking like Unicode white noise and the original authors will be frustrated…
  ivoras on HN
Versioning and upgrade of dependencies is unclear
From 2 comments
- Would the IPFS-ness of this make updating all the programs that suffer from an exploit or error a difficult thing? Kind of like smart contracts, once it is published, there is no…
  verdverm on HN
- Since each function is independently versioned, how does ScrapScript deal with functions that need to upgrade together? For instance, suppose "foo" produces a structure and "bar"…
  al2o3cr on HN

Grammar or spec documentation
From 2 comments
- Would you mind publishing a EBNF or similar grammar spec? That would make the syntax clearer.
  lionkor on HN
- Very interesting! I'm especially curious on how the live-coding experience plays out. I wish there was an example of a moderately-complex scrapbook, so that I could see what the…
  jayjader on HN
License information
From 1 comment
- Did I miss the reference to the license? Looks interesting though. Would like play with this when it's released.
  leke on HN
Example of a moderately complex scrapbook
From 1 comment
- Very interesting! I'm especially curious on how the live-coding experience plays out. I wish there was an example of a moderately-complex scrapbook, so that I could see what the…
  jayjader on HN

How does hashing treat equivalent programs and variable renames
From 2 comments
- This is lovely. I’ve had a vague notion that I wanted something like this… but never quite solidified my understanding of what is necessary. This is a super minimal-maximal…
  sagebird on HN
- You might want to look into the way Unison does things: [1], they've got a lot of similar ideas and IIRC the way their hash system works avoids that ambiguity. [1]:…
  alephaleph on HN
How is the language used and where is code executed
From 2 comments
- I haven't fully understood this. Is this a way to share code? Where are the functions executed?
  bibanez on HN
- everyone says this is cool, but I didn't understand it at all, so embarrassing :(( please eli5, honestly, want to understand this, what is this and how is it useful?
  thrrwy007 on HN
Is there semantic versioning or security updates
From 1 comment
- One question. If you reference a package by hash. Is there semantic versioning? Can you get security updates?
  quickthrower2 on HN

Unison
From 3 comments
- Reminds me of what unison already does, I just wonder what will be license and scope https://www.unison-lang.org/
  offlinehacker on HN
- Not 100% sure but there is another project with similar ideas https://www.unison-lang.org/
  quaintdev on HN
- You might want to look into the way Unison does things: [1], they've got a lot of similar ideas and IIRC the way their hash system works avoids that ambiguity. [1]:…
  alephaleph on HN
Val Town
From 1 comment
- So it's like a social network with every type of relationship imaginable built into a low level programming language? That's wildly cool. This and Val Town [0] feel like they…
  panphora on HN
Joy programming language
From 1 comment
- Neat! Maybe check out the Joy programming language? It seems well-suited to this domain.
  carapace on HN