When I think of a DSL, I think of a language with specialized
syntax,
grammar, or
constructs suited to the problem domain. Think SQL, AWK, or regular expressions. This is just a LISP variant with a typical host-side API for registering function names.
I'll never get how merely having function names that reflect the use case, plus a stripped down or absent standard library, qualifies as a DSL. I know some people have long used "DSL" in this way, especially among LISP fans, but... I just don't get it. If I want a DSL it's because I want something that gives me, e.g., novel control flow constructs a la AWK, or highly specialized semantics a la regular expressions, that directly suit the problem domain. If I'm not getting that kind of power, why tie myself to some esoteric dependency? Either way you're adopting a tremendous maintenance burden; it better be worth your while.
I'm a huge fan of Lua and have used it for many projects in different roles, but never once thought of any particular case as having created a DSL, even when stripping the environment to just a few, well-named, self-describing functions.
I don't mean to criticize this particular project. Good code is good code. It's just the particular conceptualization (one shared by many others, to be fair) of what a "DSL" means that bugs me.
I'll never get how merely having function names that reflect the use case, plus a stripped down or absent standard library, qualifies as a DSL. I know some people have long used "DSL" in this way, especially among LISP fans, but... I just don't get it. If I want a DSL it's because I want something that gives me, e.g., novel control flow constructs a la AWK, or highly specialized semantics a la regular expressions, that directly suit the problem domain. If I'm not getting that kind of power, why tie myself to some esoteric dependency? Either way you're adopting a tremendous maintenance burden; it better be worth your while.
I'm a huge fan of Lua and have used it for many projects in different roles, but never once thought of any particular case as having created a DSL, even when stripping the environment to just a few, well-named, self-describing functions.
I don't mean to criticize this particular project. Good code is good code. It's just the particular conceptualization (one shared by many others, to be fair) of what a "DSL" means that bugs me.