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Why S7 Scheme? (2020)

81 points by bmacho

by mikemee

1 subcomments

In the FWIW department, my (tiny indie games) company shipped several apps based on S7 that ran cross-platform on iOS & Android (together with SQLite). We used native UI, but had a common Scheme S7 core that had the game and database logic. It was marvelous for succinct code, fast running tests and really helped slim down duplication across our previously completely native apps. The "single C file" was critical to our choice, as, like SQLite, it enabled us to easily integrate with the native iOS & Android tooling without setting up byzantine build processes.
We also used Guile during the desktop-based development process for sometimes better debugging and to enforce greater R7RS code-compatibility. (Ah, and the subtle bugs of alternative function parameter evaluation order!)
We later moved to Fennel(-lang) based on Lua as it was a slightly better fit for our team in various ways, but the S7 experience, including the community, was fantastic!
Both solutions proved stable with tens of thousands of monthly active players.

by emptybits

2 subcomments

I'm grateful for the author's "other options that were considered" section with eight alternatives to S7. But Embeddable Common Lisp (ECL) is the only one listed that he doesn't write a few sentences about, to contrast its pros and cons versus S7. I'd love to hear more.

by sjamaan

1 subcomments

S7 is very cool indeed. It also comes as a single C file, which makes it easy to embed.
As a CHICKEN maintainer, I'd love to hear what the author was missing in the FFI part of the manual.

by bigfishrunning

1 subcomments

I have found S7 scheme to be a delight to use as a configuration/extension language. I find it much more intuitive then something like Lua or even embedded python. Because of its heritage, most of the s7 scheme uses I've seen online are music related, but it really shines outside of that field as well.

by HexDecOctBin

2 subcomments

Is there a SLIME-equivalent to achieve REPL driven programming for applications with s7 embedded in them?

by iainctduncan

0 subcomment

Author here! Funny to see this arise now, I shared links to the project a number of times but never got much interest here. For what it's worth, I would (and should!) update that page, but the choice of s7 has worked out really well. I now also use it in a WASM context, which is great. The fact that I can easily use the same scheme implementation anywhere I can run ANSI C has proven to be a real advantage.
Happy to answer other questions.
For people interested, I will update that page today with thoughts five years on.
TLDR: still really happy with the choice!

by rurban

1 subcomments