Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpcc05!hpsciz!hpdtczb!wallace
From: wallace@hpdtczb.HP.COM (David Wallace)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Dynamic typing (part 3)
Message-ID: <1610006@hpdtczb.HP.COM>
Date: 19 Mar 91 17:15:49 GMT
References: <602@optima.cs.arizona.edu>
Organization: HP Design Tech Center - Santa Clara, CA
Lines: 18

>> = David Gudeman
> = Dan Bernstein

>> Programs in
>> dynamically typed languages are generally half to a tenth the size of
>> programs in statically typed languages that do the same thing.
>
>I don't believe you. Give an example.

It's only a single data point, but my first prototype version of ATV (the
abstract timing verifier I wrote for my dissertation work) was 1600 lines of
C code.  At that point I changed to Lisp, and got the same functionality in
less than 300 lines of Common Lisp code.  I also got additional functionality
for free: command scripts, the next thing I wanted to add to the program,
took 0 lines of code in Lisp.  (load "file") worked just fine.  The 5+:1 code
ratio here is certainly consistent with David's ranges.

Dave W.		(wallace@hpdtl.ctgsc.hp.com)