Re: GSL shell release 0.9.6 plus standard Lua module

[KHMan <keinhong@...>]

Miles Bader wrote:
> steve donovan writes:
> > > I confess that I was disappointed with the last announce since I've
> > > seen little or no interest coming from the Lua community. I will stop
> > > bother people in the mailing list if I see that there is still no
> > > interest.
> > Actually, I think we appreciate the status updates. Maybe there are
> > some who think 'cool!' but don't want to create noise by saying this
> > unnecessarily often.  gsl-shell can occupy an important niche in the
> > Lua world for people who do numerical work,
>
> ... and it can take time for a project to find popularity, even if it's
> good (and GSL looks pretty good).
>
> Personally GSL is something that I kinda _want_ to use -- I used to do
> similar calculation/plotting stuff in C writing output for gnuplot to
> display (annoying), and GSL looks much nicer for that -- but I'm not
> currently doing anything that needs it.  However, it's most certainly in
> my memory waiting for an appropriate need to surface...

To be perfectly frank, I think Francesco should set expectations 
for feedback to "quite low". Then you would be pleasantly 
surprised when there is interest in the project.

Interest in GSL on this list is just that -- interest. Remember, 
this list is about Lua -- a self-selected bias. But consider the 
fraction who use Lua and need to use GSL-like tools on a 
non-casual basis -- how many are there? Also, it's hard to push 
new tools on mathematicians and a lot of engineers like the 
convenience of spreadsheets for flexible preparation and 
manipulation of data. So there are people who express interest on 
this list. But how many early adopters will you get?

Discussion on syntax etc. on this list is about the extension of 
Lua -- it may not correlate at all with gaining users or adopters.

It's hard to grow a community for a niche project. But I'm sure it 
can be done. Good luck and best wishes. Keep plugging along.

PS. Some may label this post as "killjoy". But I'm just espousing 
practical expectations instead of optimistic expectations.
--
Cheers,
Kein-Hong Man (esq.)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia