a syntactically streamlined dialect of objective-c using clang/llvm

Removing the “Slum of Braces” from Objective-C

My wife once told me about the idea behind the design of the Tulip chair and Pedestal table by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, who is perhaps best known for designing St. Louis’ Gateway Arch. His goal in creating this table and chairs, which rest on round bases, was to clean up the “slum of legs” that had always been present in dining-room furniture. Coincidentally, Saarinen also had taught at the Cranbrook Institute of Science, which is near my hometown of Detroit and which I had visited as a child. Given that and our mutual interest in reduction and simplification, it seemed fitting to name this dialect after him and to co-opt his tag line.

Principles

I try to stick to the following principles in Eero:

• Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY)
• Make the compiler, not the programmer, do the work
• Principle of Least Surprise (POLS)

Inspirations

To date, I’ve been inspired by the following languages (in no particular order):

• Python
• Ruby
• Smalltalk
• Ada
• Eiffel
• MacRuby (which I re-discovered after beginning this project)
• Vala (similar concept, but for GObject)
• C++ (both for positive and negative experiences; most of my professional experience is actually in C++)

The Future

See Future plans and ideas on the project wiki for some things that may (or may not) make it into Eero in the near future.

About me

After receiving my B.S.E.E. from the University of Michigan, I went to work in software development. I’ve worked for large companies like Nokia, Texas Instruments, and McDonnell Douglas (a.k.a Boeing); some medium and small companies; and for myself. I’ve programmed professionally in C, C++, Python, JavaScript, Ada, and even Pascal and Fortran (sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone).

You can find me on twitter at @andyarvanitisFollow @andyarvanitis