[racket] Racket in the large

On Saturday, August 20, 2011, gonzalo diethelm <gdiethelm at dcv.cl> wrote:
> I would like to thank everyone for their thoughtful answers. I will try to
summarize a bit and then present my conclusions at the end. One minor note:
I did try to clearly differentiate between Scheme and Racket in my original
post; I am fully aware they are separate and different languages.
>
> 1. There definitely are enterprise-class applications in the wild which
were built with Scheme and/or Racket. The following were mentioned: some of
Disney World's virtual rides, the control system for some Boeing / USAF
telescope arrays, a large enterprise system interacting with PostgreSQL, a
simulator that helps the process of pricing hall structures, and a system
used to convert data files between two very different hardware
architectures.
>
> 2. It is possible to build console, GUI and web apps with Racket. There
are countless console apps everywhere; DrRacket is a good example of a
complicated GUI app; it is likely that the PLaneT server is implemented in
Racket (could anyone please confirm this)?

It is.

Robby

> 3. Scheme (current standard) is the third-best language there is. Racket
is the second-best language. It is not clear which would be the overall best
language (this was tongue in cheek, I assume, but I would love to hear the
answer).
>
> 4. Racket is a rather recent language that is just beginning to take off,
and things are looking very bright.
>
> 5. There might be a Racket software engineering book soon, planned by Neil
Van Dyke. I declare myself as a sure customer.
>
> 6. I think there is one thing missing in Racket, and this was also pointed
out during the discussion: database drivers for major DBMSs (I would say at
least Oracle, DB2 and SQL Server on the commercial front, and PostgreSQL,
SQLite and MySQL on the open source front). In addition to that, I think
Racket would be greatly enhanced by a single relational data access layer
that would hide the differences between specific RDBMSs and facilitate
switching from one to another. (Note: I am not trying to dictate anything
about Racket, just voicing my opinion).
>
>
> My conclusion is that I will keep learning and using Racket for my future
projects; I fully expect that learning experience to be a thoroughly
entertaining personal journey. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed
answers to my questions, and to those who have brought Racket to where it
stands today. You guys rock.
>
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