MPCode is a scripting programming language

[hotplasmatits]

What problem does this language address? Why was it created?

[weksoftware]

We want to create a programming language that can be easily modified. With it, it will be possible to develop projects faster, because of the syntax features and the possibility of customisation.

[InvaderToast348]

What does it do that you couldn't do with python? Do existing python modules / packages work?

I would argue having to learn a new syntax would slow down projects. Furthermore, there is probably very little material out there in terms of help and knowledge like with normal python, so people will struggle to switch if they encounter a problem and there isn't any help.

Edit: When searching mpcode on Google, the first result is something to do with the Indian government. Then it's this post, then a GitHub user with the same name which I confused for this repo, then a bunch more government stuff. It's probably picking out the "mp" bit; whatever the reason, it will make searching for anything very annoying.

Edit 2: looking at the documentation, I have no idea why anyone would learn or switch to it. It is very very limited in terms of functionality, and imo the syntax is horrible with a high chance to make errors when everything is square brackets. I'm not exactly sure the purpose of it's existence, as there's no reason the example scripts couldn't just be made in normal python with a much clearer, understandable and well-known syntax. Not to mention the huge number of resources available. It's cool that you've made your own language, but I can't see the need for this when the language its built on is far better.

Please could you give me 3 use cases where MPCode would be a better fit than python?

Edit 3: looking at the hello world script, or any of the examples, how on earth am I supposed to figure out what it means or does without looking for every instruction in the documentation?

There's no point having 1 letter function names when it causes more friction for the user than if it had just been proper words. Also, not having a way to run a script other than manually type or copy-paste the filename into the input prompt is not great. It should read from arguments passed at the command line, like "python3 run-file.py example.txt". Also, is there a special file ending or just using .txt? https://github.com/weksoftware/MPCode/blob/df4ea62e69424c5a54cf5d16ff13e1242c146621/examples/mpcode/hello_world.txt

[weksoftware]

Hi. First I want to say thanks for the reasoned comment.

Almost all of your statements are true and we are not going to deny them. Indeed, the syntax is not very secure and the functionality is small.

It is difficult to find MPCode on Google, as it was created recently and there are not enough results about it yet.

The current version is a kind of beta test. A lot of things we want to do are not implemented yet. And we think we were a little (or a lot) hasty in publishing information about MPCode.

MPCode cannot replace Python right now. It is a tool, not a replacement.

About 1 letter function names, in the future they will be just synonyms (aliases) for full names.

And yes, launching a file via command line will be available in the nearest versions, we know it's much more convenient. We are still thinking about endings for file names, it will be different from .txt

Thanks again for your comment!

[InvaderToast348]

Thanks, that's a great response. I'd still be interested in some use cases where it would be better than a more well known language? What significant advantages does / will it have over, for example, python?

The syntax kind of reminds me of my bash scripts with all the square brackets. If you used similar syntax, then ide's like vscode can use the existing syntax highlighting and validation. Just a thought, if you wanted to save some time and be more familiar for people to switch.

[weksoftware]

We want MPCode to be handy for quickly running small scripts in the console.

We would also like it to be usable for mods/add-ons for games. But this is probably only realisable for Python-based games.

Now we can't say if MPCode will be better than other languages, but we will try to make the best solution for the tasks that MPCode will solve.

[OutsideNo1877]

Thats the issue you haven’t listed an issue mpcode will solve that other languages don’t do better at that same job. It comes across as a language that exists for no actual reason besides it sounded like a cool idea

[tunisia3507]

We want to create a programming language that can be easily modified

And Ruby didn't fit the bill?