1. Why is it called "L", rather than a longer, more descriptive name?
2. L programs run too slowly. Will you make them faster?
3. How does L compare to C++? To Java? To Perl?
4. Do I need a run-time or virtual machine to run an L program?
5. Do I have to pay royalties on L?
6. Is it GPL'd? Do I have to distribute my source code in a product using L?
7. Can I modify the L compiler and/or base?
8. How are you making money on this?
9. What is "Swizzy.org", and what is its relationship to L?

1. Why is it called "L", rather than a longer, more descriptive name?

It came about like this: before the beginning of Swizzy, Peter was stewing about how he could make his life easier. One day he went to Martin and said, "What if we wrote a programming language? What would it be like? Well, imagine a language, let's call it L, that has such-and-such properties..." And from then on we just fell into the habit of calling it "L".

For a while we tried to think up different names, but in the end "L" was too attractive for a number of reasons:

• It's easy to say and remember. L for language.
• Imagine the slogans: "If you're tired of C++, go to L."
• The language is L-egant.
• It's fun to say some cool programming construct is "L-ish".
• 'L' is a nice short prefix we could put on all the C++ classes that make up the L runtime.

2. L programs run too slowly. Will you make them faster?

We're going to do what we can, but the main thing you can do is to hand-code critical portions of your program in C++ (which is very easy to in-line with L). Moore's Law will do the rest.

What you can do. Most programs have a few routines that take most of the time. Identify those routines, and write some blazing fast in-line C++ code. Just put it right in your L code. Tweak it to your heart's content, even add in-line assembly if you want to. And continue to use L for the parts of the program where you won't notice the speed difference.

What we'll do. We will continue to optimize the compiler and runtime as we go along. But the primary goal of L is to make programming easier, and we won't sacrifice that noble goal.

What Moore's Law will do. Observe that if you change nothing, and L doesn't change, your program will still get faster. In fact, due to Moore's Law, your program will roughly double in speed every 18 months. I know it's not really a law, but it's been a great rule of thumb for 30+ years, and we're not slowing down.

3. How does L compare to C++? To Java? To Perl?

Please see the separate section devoted to this topic.

4. Do I need a run-time or virtual machine to run an L program?

No. Since L compiles to C++ code, you can compile that C++ code into a standalone executable file. You may choose to link in the L core statically (which makes the executable bigger), or dynamically (in which case the program will need to locate the shared library files when it runs.)

5. Do I have to pay royalties on L?

No. L is provided royalty-free and under a straightforward, permissive license. It's short, so it can't hurt you to read it here.

6. Is it GPL'd? If I make a product with L do I have to give away my source code?

No, it's not under the GNU Public Licnse. You may distribute your code with your product, or not. You may use L to build commercial products, provided you don't violate the simple terms of the Swizzy License Agreement.

7. Can I modify the L compiler and/or base?

Sure. Just be sure you obey the simple terms of the Swizzy License Agreement, found here. It basically says you can't sue us over the code we provided, that you won't claim you wrote the original code, and that you keep the license agreeement with the code.

If you make improvements or bug fixes, we'd appreciate hearing from you so we can look at integrating your changes into the next release of L. Try to do a nice job documenting the code so we can drop it right in.

8. How are you making money on this?

We're not making money on it, and we won't. L is free and will stay free. As industry professionals for several years, we've felt fortunate to be paid well while having so much fun, and that it's time we gave something back to the programming community.

9. What is "Swizzy.org", and what is its relationship to L?

We are Swizzy.org, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making computers easier to use. L is our first major project, but not, we hope, the last.

 

 

One way to learn about L is to see how it compares to a programming language you already understand. In this section we examine some popular languages and their similarities to L. Here's a really quick summary, with more detailed analyses afterward.