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feat: update Faq.js (#137)
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@magnus-madsen
magnus-madsen authored Dec 30, 2023
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170 changes: 60 additions & 110 deletions src/page/Faq.js
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Expand Up @@ -37,30 +37,41 @@ class Faq extends Component {
<Answer>
<p>
Yes, with the <code>import</code> mechanism.
You can read more in the documentation, in the section: <a
href="https://doc.flix.dev/interoperability.html">Interoperability</a>.
</p>
</Answer>
</QA>

<QA>
<Question>
Flix looks quite similar to Scala. How are the two languages related?
Flix looks similar to Scala. How are the two languages related?
</Question>
<Answer>
<p>
Flix borrows a lot of syntax from Scala, hence the two languages have a similar feel.
</p>
<p>
We think Scala made many good design choices with respect to syntax, including:
(a) the use of short keywords,
(b) the <code>x : T</code> syntax for type annotations,
(c) the <code>List[Int32]</code> syntax for type parameters, and
(d) <code>if</code>, <code>match</code>, etc. as expressions.
</p>

<ul>
<li>the use of short keywords,</li>
<li>the <code>x : T</code> syntax for type annotations,</li>
<li>the <code>List[Int32]</code> syntax for type parameters, and</li>
<li><code>if</code>, <code>match</code>, etc. as expressions.</li>
</ul>

<p>
Other than syntax, the two languages are very different: Scala is object-oriented, Flix is
not.
Scala has sub-typing, Flix does not. The Scala type system is unsound and has imperfect
type inference, whereas the Flix type system is both sound and supports type inference.
However, other than syntax, the two languages are very different:
</p>

<ul>
<li>Scala is object-oriented, Flix is not.</li>
<li>Scala has sub-typing, Flix does not.</li>
<li>Flix has an effect system, Scala does not.</li>
<li>And so on.</li>
</ul>
</Answer>
</QA>

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -98,69 +109,37 @@ class Faq extends Component {
Does Flix compile to WebAssembly (WASM)?
</Question>
<Answer>
No, not at the moment. It is something we are open to, but we are waiting for WebAssembly to
gain a garbage collector and tail calls.
Not yet. It is something we are open to.
We are waiting for WebAssembly to offer native support for garbage collection and tail calls.
</Answer>
</QA>

<QA>
<Question>
Why does Flix target the Java Virtual Machine (JVM)?
Is the Flix type system sound? Does it support complete inference?
</Question>
<Answer>
The Java Virtual Machine has many attractive features not found on other VMs, including:
<ul>
<li>A state-of-the-art JIT compiler.</li>
<li>Multiple state-of-the-art garbage collectors.</li>
<li>Access to a huge ecosystem of libraries.</li>
<li>A multitude of concurrency primitives including light-weight threads.</li>
<li>Advanced introspection and debugging facilities.</li>
</ul>
Yes and yes. The type system is a variant of Hindley-Milner.
</Answer>
</QA>

<QA>
<Question>
Is the Flix type system sound?
</Question>
<Answer>
Yes. It is based on Hindley-Milner.
</Answer>
</QA>

<QA>
<Question>
I want to learn Flix! What should I know about before hand?
What is the best way to start learning Flix?
</Question>
<Answer>
<p>
At the moment, Flix has not yet reached version 1.0. That means you will be an early
adopter, so you should expect for the language to evolve and be prepared for the rare
compiler bug. (The Flix compiler has 9,500 manually written tests and we
take correctness seriously.)
We recommand that you have some prior experience with functional programming.
</p>

<p>
To write Flix programs, a solid background in functional programming is useful. That means
prior experience with OCaml, Haskell, Scala, or similar programming languages.
</p>
</Answer>
</QA>

<QA>
<Question>
What is the best way to start learning Flix?
</Question>
<Answer>
<p>
We recommend that you start with a small offering to the Great Dreamer, the Sleeper of
R'lyeh, Cthulhu. And coffee. Lots of coffee. All kidding aside, the best place to start is
to look at the examples and to read the <a href="https://doc.flix.dev/">Programming
Flix</a> book.
Other than that, the best place to start is to look at the examples and to
read the <a href="https://doc.flix.dev/">Programming Flix</a> book.
</p>

<p>
If you get stuck or need help feel free to reach out to us on Gitter.
If you get stuck or need help feel free to reach out to
us on <a href="https://gitter.im/flix/Lobby">Gitter</a>.
</p>
</Answer>
</QA>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -198,7 +177,7 @@ class Faq extends Component {

<QA>
<Question>
Haskell and OCaml compile to native code thus – by definition – they must be faster than Flix.
Haskell and OCaml compile to native code thus by definition they must be faster than Flix.
</Question>
<Answer>
This is not necessarily true. For example, Java sometimes beats both <a
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -307,16 +286,6 @@ class Faq extends Component {
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Exceptions</td>
<td>Exceptions have been used to deal with two types of errors that may arise during
execution of a program: predictable errors (e.g. a file does not exist) and program
bugs (e.g. stack overflow). Flix has no exceptions. Instead, all predictable errors
should be encoded as partial functions (e.g. using <code>Option</code>) or as
potentially error returning functions (e.g. using <code>Result</code>). We are still
in the process of deciding how to handle program bugs.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Null Values</td>
<td>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -422,30 +391,12 @@ class Faq extends Component {
</Answer>
</QA>

<QA>
<Question>
Who works on Flix? Is Flix a hobby project?
</Question>
<Answer>
<p>
Flix is a research project carried out by faculty and students at <a
href="http://cs.au.dk/">Aarhus University</a> and the <a href="http://uwaterloo.ca/">University
of Waterloo</a>.
</p>

<p>
Flix is partially supported by a grant of 2,500,000 DKK from the <a href="http://dff.dk/">Independent
Research Fund of Denmark.</a>
</p>
</Answer>
</QA>

<QA>
<Question>
Where does the "Flix" name come from?
</Question>
<Answer>
We do not entirely remember, but we believe it came from <span className="text-monospace">FIXpoint Language</span>.
We do not remember, but we believe it may have come from <span className="text-monospace">FIXpoint Language</span>.
</Answer>
</QA>

Expand All @@ -463,9 +414,8 @@ class Faq extends Component {
You do not seem to understand parsing / type theory / code generation / computers!
</Question>
<Answer>
We are happy to learn and to revisit design decisions if we come to a greater understanding
of the problem at hand. If you think we have overlooked something, we would be happy to talk
about it if you post a ticket on GitHub or write to us on Gitter.
We are always happy to learn! We are ready to discuss design choices made in Flix.
Swing by Gitter or on GitHub.
</Answer>
</QA>

Expand All @@ -474,9 +424,9 @@ class Faq extends Component {
Why does the website require JavaScript?
</Question>
<Answer>
We built the website using the popular React framework. We use JavaScript for the online code
editor. Using React was easy. Ultimately, we want to spend our time writing compilers, not
writing websites.
We built the website using the popular React framework.
Using React was easy.
Ultimately, we want to spend our time writing compilers, not writing websites.
</Answer>
</QA>

Expand All @@ -495,15 +445,16 @@ class Faq extends Component {
<Question>"This site requires JavaScript"</Question>
<Answer>
<p>
People who have criticized the website for using JavaScript:
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25516097">[1]</a>, <a
People who have criticized the website for using JavaScript: <a
href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25516097">[1]</a>, <a
href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38419909">[2]</a>, <a
href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38420198">[3]</a>, <a
href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38419695">[4]</a>.
href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38419695">[4]</a>, <a
href="https://lobste.rs/s/ygbpw3/defense_programming_languages#c_yc6jle">[5]</a>.
</p>

<p>
People who have offered to help transition the site to use a static page generator: <b>0</b>.
People who have offered to help refactor the site to use static html: <b>0</b>.
</p>
</Answer>
</QA>
Expand All @@ -515,12 +466,12 @@ class Faq extends Component {
<Answer>
<p>
The latest compiler version and the website is not always in sync, hence occasionally some
examples may stop to work. Feel free to open a bug report if this happens.
examples may stop to work.
</p>

<p>
Occasionally a mischievous visitor will crash the online editor (or rather the virtual
machine on which the compiler runs). We usually discover and fix this within a few days.
machine on which the compiler runs).
</p>
</Answer>
</QA>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -552,11 +503,7 @@ class Faq extends Component {
</Question>
<Answer>
<p>
Indeed, we do it all for C#.
</p>
<p>
Or, you know, because we honestly believe in functional programming (with room for local
imperative programming!)
Yes, we do it all for C#.
</p>
</Answer>
</QA>
Expand All @@ -568,11 +515,19 @@ class Faq extends Component {
the best with that.
</Question>
<Answer>
Yes, we take inspiration from well-designed languages that are pushing on the boundary of
programming language design.
What would be the point of taking ideas from C, Perl, PHP, and Visual Basic? Also, we did not
say that we are taking their
most complex ideas; rather we should take their <i>best</i> ideas.
<p>
Yes, we take inspiration from programming languages that are pushing on the boundary of
language design.
</p>

<p>
What would be the point of taking ideas from C, Perl, PHP, and Visual Basic?
</p>

<p>
Also, who said that we are taking their most complex ideas? Rather we should take
their <i>best</i> ideas.
</p>
</Answer>
</QA>

Expand All @@ -591,7 +546,7 @@ class Faq extends Component {
existing programming languages is not enough.
</Question>
<Answer>
Flix aims to offer a combination of features that are not found in any existing programming
Flix aims to offer a collection of features that are not found in any existing programming
language.
</Answer>
</QA>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -649,9 +604,7 @@ class Faq extends Component {
of white space.
</Question>
<Answer>
Yes, because that design choice has no issues with inadvertently causing bugs due to
(i) lexing and parsing ambiguities, (ii) mixing tabs and spaces, (iii) copy-paste of code, and
(iv) all of the above.
Right, because significant whitespace poses no challenges or gotchas whatsoever.
</Answer>
</QA>

Expand All @@ -670,9 +623,6 @@ class Faq extends Component {
:: xs</code>.
</li>
<li>The underscore <code>_</code> denotes a wildcard (or an unused variable).</li>
<li>The expression <code>&lt;- c</code> reads a value from a channel whereas <code>c &lt;-
v</code> writes a value to a channel.
</li>
<li>The symbol <code>:-</code> denotes logical implication in Datalog rules.</li>
</ul>
</Answer>
Expand Down
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