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Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2012 13:51:49 +1100
Subject: Re: SnakeScript? (CoffeeScript for Python)
From: Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com>
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On Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 9:53 AM, andrea crotti <andrea.crotti.0@gmail.com> wrote:
> Mm I don't think it's what the OP is asking (unless I misunderstood...).
> I think he wants to compile some syntax TO Python.
> But I don't really see why you would something like this (if not for fun).
>
> Then how are you going to maintain the code? Maintain the compiled
> code or the source? And proving that your translator is always correct
> I think it's quite a hard task too...

There's two similar concepts here.

1) Skeleton codegens. You do up some kind of template, run it through
a program, and get a ready-to-fill-in code structure. In this case,
you don't care so much about the translator's quality (if there's
bugs/limitations, you fix 'em after codegenning), and will maintain
the compiled code.

2) Compilation to Python. You write your program in some other
language, run it through a program, and get executable code out of it.
You want the translator to be perfect (so that you don't have to edit
the resulting code), and will maintain the original source.

I think the OP is looking for #2. I've used that sort of technique a
number of times (not with Python specifically, but with other
languages that lack certain handy features); usually the source is
trivially translateable into the output, with 99% of syntax identical
(for instance, one oft-wanted feature is a C-like #include - I've
written .php.m4 files that  get processed through M4 to become PHP
files).

ChrisA