

Web Based Haskell IDE/App Server from FP Complete - johnbender
https://www.fpcomplete.com/business/haskell-center/overview/

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tikhonj
In my view, one of the largest problems Haskell has--much like Linux--is that
it's hard to get started. There is quite a bit of incidental complexity: you
have to install the compiler (or Haskell Platform), set up an editor, learn
about cabal and so on.

Partly because of this, Haskell is never the "default" choice--if you set out
to "learn programming", you'll be quickly herded to JavaScript, Java, Python
or, god forbid, PHP. The only people learning Haskell are the ones who set out
to _learn Haskell_.

Hopefully a nice web-based, turnkey development environment will really help
with the upfront cost. Now to learn Haskell somebody just has to go to the
website and start.

Of course, interactive tutorials for Haskell would make for an even nicer
introduction. And hey, the same company behind this IDE has something like
that: the School of Haskell[1]! It lets readers edit and run Haskell code
snippets right in the browser, which should make picking up the basics even
easier.

[1]: [https://www.fpcomplete.com/school](https://www.fpcomplete.com/school)

It's very gratifying to see people chipping away at one of the main walls to
Haskell adoption.

~~~
salimmadjd
Yes! Because the biggest problem with Haskell adoption was not having a place
to give $75/month to.

On the serious side. I've often wanted to learn Haskell, but not coming from a
functional background makes it hard. Also I think idiomatic Haskell might be
great for Haskell coders, but it's hard for anyone who comes new to functional
and wants to learn by reading code.

~~~
cgag
I don't really think there's anything that can or should be done about this.
It feels like saying Spanish is great for Spanish speakers but it's opaque to
everyone else.

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m0nastic
I'm happy to see things like this, as the easier it is for folks to use
Haskell, the better it is for the platform.

I might try to experiment with some personal projects on it, although
unfortunately, I can't use it for any of my actual work.

