Application letters at the Haskell workshop: suggestion

[Ketil Malde]

Johannes Waldmann <joe@isun.informatik.uni-leipzig.de> writes:

>> ... there have been no submissions accepted in the
>> `application letters' category for the Haskell workshop.

Really?

> a) there ARE no proper real world applications of Haskell
>    (only a rather large number of so called pearls)

> b) these things do exist, but their programmers 
>    don't have the time/energy/whatever to write a proper paper about them
>    (for a "real world" conference - that is, a theory conference :-)

c) "Real World"(tm) applications originate, almost by definition,
outside of the academic community.  When the applications (programs
that is) and submissions are held to academic standards by the
(academic) referees, they aren't seen as interesting or conforming
enough. 

Just a theory, anyhow.

> if a) then it is bad for Haskell as a whole, 

There were submissions, I know about at least one that got
rejected. :-) 

Among the criticisms were that the implementation didn't really use
(or rely on) any Haskell specific functionality.  I'm not convinced
requiring applications to teach us "anything new about Haskell" (in the
words of one referee) is a good criterion for application letters -
after all, that's what academia is for.

It all depends on *why* you want applciation letters.  The fact that
none gets accepted could be an indication that the rationale (and
subsequently the criterions for acceptance) should be reviewed.

-kzm
-- 
If I haven't seen further, it is by standing in the footprints of giants