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0 pointsalganet8mo ago0 comments

Some 15 years ago, I made a small configuration language:

https://github.com/Respect/Config/blob/master/docs/README.md

Then, two years later, toml (by a GitHub founder) appeared. It is almost an exact clone of it.

You could say that is just a coincidence, and it's an obvious idea that anyone could have had.

But then again, also around that time, a sibling component for the configuration language was featured on "The Changelog" (then, a very popular website featuring interesting projects).

https://changelog.com/posts/validation-the-most-awesome-vali...

It stayed on trending PHP repositories for months.

So, either toml was stolen or I independently invented it years prior.

Don't do easy to implement DSLs kids, there's no way of licensing them.

0 comments

alganetOP8mo ago

By the way, no hard feelings.

The best thing that happened with my early projects was the local community I was able to help build here in Brazil.

I've seen many local contributors that helped with my early projects do things well beyond what their dreamt of at the time, and I'm sure I had a positive influence on the careers of many people. All with honest, simple hard work.

I am sure many people remember I did some things first, and without any investment or marketing attached to it. Just a kid, making things.

To me, that is worth a lot more than VC money.

awwright8mo ago

Isn't that itself just a variation on the ini syntax, sort of made concrete by PHP, itself adapted from DOS? https://www.php.net/parse_ini_file

alganetOP8mo ago

Yes. I think this also supports my case.

For me, it was obvious to use `parse_ini_file` because it greatly improved performance (I didn't had to parse it by hand) and familiarity (PHP users already know ini).

On the other hand, there is no reason for toml to have chosen ini. Almost no other language had efficient ini parsers at the time, or any culture related to ini files whatsoever. It sounds like a strange choice outside the PHP context.

laurencerowe8mo ago

Python’s built in ConfigParser has an ini like syntax and was widely used.

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0 pointsalganet8mo ago0 comments

Some 15 years ago, I made a small configuration language:

https://github.com/Respect/Config/blob/master/docs/README.md

Then, two years later, toml (by a GitHub founder) appeared. It is almost an exact clone of it.

https://github.com/toml-lang/toml

You could say that is just a coincidence, and it's an obvious idea that anyone could have had.

But then again, also around that time, a sibling component for the configuration language was featured on "The Changelog" (then, a very popular website featuring interesting projects).

https://changelog.com/posts/validation-the-most-awesome-vali...

It stayed on trending PHP repositories for months.

So, either toml was stolen or I independently invented it years prior.

Don't do easy to implement DSLs kids, there's no way of licensing them.

0 comments

alganetOP8mo ago

By the way, no hard feelings.

The best thing that happened with my early projects was the local community I was able to help build here in Brazil.

I am sure many people remember I did some things first, and without any investment or marketing attached to it. Just a kid, making things.

To me, that is worth a lot more than VC money.

awwright8mo ago

Isn't that itself just a variation on the ini syntax, sort of made concrete by PHP, itself adapted from DOS? https://www.php.net/parse_ini_file

alganetOP8mo ago

Yes. I think this also supports my case.

For me, it was obvious to use `parse_ini_file` because it greatly improved performance (I didn't had to parse it by hand) and familiarity (PHP users already know ini).

laurencerowe8mo ago

Python’s built in ConfigParser has an ini like syntax and was widely used.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse