racket/collects/meta/web/www/new-name.rkt

#lang at-exp s-exp "shared.rkt"

(define name i)

(define (url str) (tt (a href: str str)))

;;TODO: this should be done with some common function, together with
;;translating "``" etc.
(define (split-to-paras xs)
  (let loop ([cur #f] [paras '()] [xs xs])
    (cond
      [(null? xs) (map p (reverse (if cur (cons (reverse cur) paras) paras)))]
      [cur (if (and (equal? "\n" (car xs))
                    (pair? (cdr xs)) (equal? "\n" (cadr xs)))
             (loop #f (cons (reverse cur) paras) (cdr xs))
             (loop (cons (car xs) cur) paras (cdr xs)))]
      [else (loop (if (equal? "\n" (car xs)) cur (list (car xs)))
                  paras (cdr xs))])))

(define ((FAQ tag . ques) . answer)
  @div[class: 'faqentry]{
    @div[class: 'faqques]{@a[name: tag]{@ques}}
    @div[class: 'faqans]{@@(split-to-paras answer)}})

(define styles
  @style/inline{
    .nestedheading {
      text-align: center;
      font-weight: bold;
      font-size: large;
    }
    .nested {
      width: 80%;
      margin-left: auto;
      margin-right: auto;
      margin-top: 1em;
      margin-bottom: 1em;
    }
    .faqsection {
      margin-left: auto;
      margin-right: auto;
      margin-top: 2em;
      width: 90%;
    }
    .faqques {
      font-weight: bold;
      margin-top: 1em;
      margin-bottom: 1em;
    }
    .faqans {
      margin-left: 1em;
    }})

(define new-name
  @page[#:title "From PLT Scheme to Racket"]{
    @styles

    @div[class: 'nestedheading]{PLT Scheme is a Racket}

    @div[class: 'nested]{Sure, it has parentheses, uses the keyword
      @tt{lambda}, provides lexical scope, and emphasizes macros @|ndash| but
      don't be fooled.  PLT Scheme is no minimalist embodiment of 1930s math or
      1970s technology.  PLT Scheme is a cover for a gang of academic hackers
      who want to fuse cutting-edge programming-language research with everyday
      programming.  They draw you in with the promise of a simple and polite
      little Scheme, but soon you'll find yourself using modules, contracts,
      keyword arguments, classes, static types, and even curly braces.}


    @div[class: 'nestedheading]{Racket is a Scheme}

    @div[class: 'nested]{Racket is still a dialect of Lisp and a descendant of
      Scheme.  The tools developed by PLT will continue to support R5RS, R6RS,
      the old @tt{mzscheme} environment, Typed Scheme, and more.  At the same
      time, instead of having to say @|ldquo|PLT's main variant of
      Scheme,@|rdquo| programmers can now simply say @|ldquo|Racket@|rdquo| to
      refer to the specific descendant of Scheme that powers PLT's languages
      and libraries.}


    @div[class: 'faqsection]{
      @div[class: 'nestedheading]{Anticipated Questions}


      @@FAQ["why"]{
        Why change the name?
        }{

        The @name{Scheme} part of the name @name{PLT Scheme} is misleading, and
        it is often an obstacle to explaining and promoting PLT research and
        tools.

        For example, when you type @|ldquo|scheme@|rdquo| into Google, the
        first hit is a Wikipedia entry written from an R5RS perspective.
        That's appropriate for a Wikipedia page on Scheme, but it's not a good
        introduction to PLT Scheme. As long as we call our language
        @name{Scheme}, we struggle to explain our language, and we are usually
        forced to start the explanation with a disclaimer.  At the same time,
        to the degree that the PLT community has defined @name{Scheme} though
        market share, publications, and educational outreach, we interfere with
        everyone else's ability to define @name{Scheme} @|ndash| and many have
        a valid claim to that ability.

        By switching to @name{Racket}, we expect to resolve this
        communication problem.}


      @@FAQ["what"]{What will the change look like?
        }{

        @name{DrScheme} becomes @name{DrRacket}.  The @tt{mzscheme} executable
        becomes @tt{racket}, and @tt{mred} becomes @tt{gracket} (following a
        common convention for @|ldquo|GUI @tt{racket}@|rdquo|).  We change each
        @tt{#lang scheme} to @tt{#lang racket} in the Racket distribution,
        although @tt{#lang scheme} will be supported for backward
        compatibility. The @url{http://plt-scheme.org} site will be replaced by
        @url{http://racket-lang.org}.  The @tt{plt-scheme} mailing list becomes
        the @tt{racket} mailing list (@tt{users@"@"racket-lang.org}).

        The Racket site and documentation will note that Racket is a descendant
        of Scheme, but most current uses of the word @|ldquo|Scheme@|rdquo|
        (which implicitly mean PLT Scheme) will be replaced by
        @|ldquo|Racket.@|rdquo|

        Racket programmers are @name{Racketeers}, of course.}


      @@FAQ["scheme"]{
        Does this mean that PLT will no longer implement Scheme?
        }{

        There will be little difference between the current @tt{#lang scheme}
        and the new @tt{#lang racket}, but the latter will become the
        preferred form.

        In addition, PLT will continue to support standards such as R5RS
        and R6RS.  The transition from/to various Scheme languages to/from
        Racket will be as easy/difficult as before.}


      @@FAQ["transition"]{What happens to all of the old programs, scripts,
        address books, bookmarks, papers, etc. that refer to @name{PLT
        Scheme} instead of @name{Racket}?}{
        Old executables, web sites, mailing addresses, and module names will
        forward to the new ones.  We will work to make the transition as
        painless as possible and to preserve old references for as long as
        possible.}

      @@FAQ["edu"]{
        How can I tell my department that we should teach with Racket
        instead of Scheme?  They've never heard of @name{Racket}.
        }{

        If you felt comfortable claiming that PLT Scheme was Scheme before,
        then you can still say that you want to teach with Scheme, even if the
        environment is called @name{DrRacket}.  Racket is a descendant of
        Scheme, just like PLT Scheme was.}


      @@FAQ["brand"]{
        Aren't you worried that you will lose brand recognition by switching
        from the name @name{Scheme} to @name{Racket}?
        }{

        Yes.  Nevertheless, we think the long-term benefit of a new name will
        outweigh the short-term difficulties of changing.}


      @@FAQ["plt"]{
        Instead of picking a new name, why not just call the language
        @name{PLT}?
        }{

        Some of us tried that, informally.  It felt awkward, because we use
        @name{PLT} to refer to a group of people, and because we have used
        @name{PLT} as a modifier for @name{Scheme} and other nouns.  Switching
        the language name from one noun to another sounds better, it's clearer,
        and it's easier to explain.}


      @@FAQ["suggestions"]{
        Couldn't you find a better name?
        @name{[Insert name here]} would be better.
        }{

        Thank you for the suggestion.  The name @name{Racket} meets some basic
        criteria: it isn't used already, it's easy to pronounce and spell, and
        it has a vague connection to the word @|ldquo|scheme.@|rdquo|  Mostly,
        though, we just like it.}

      }})