A Joeish Erlang distribution

[Vlad Dumitrescu (EAW)]

Hi,

> In my case I embraced Erlang because the OTP was built using it.
> I wasn't looking for a cool new language that I'd be the only one
> on my block who knew.(*)  I was looking to manage all the problems 
> that come with building a telecom system.  OTP may not be perfect
> but until you're ready to build a better one you should be using
> it.  

I think there are two kinds of potential new users: those working 
with telecom (who actually need OTP) and those who don't (who might 
be "scared" by OTP).

*IF* there will be a modularization of Erlang/OTP, I think it will 
be worth considering to "split" the marketing message: 

  - Erlang -- the cool COPL that will let you do all this wonderous 
stuff and never crashes.
  - OTP -- the super-duper telecom framework, which happens to be 
implemented in Erlang. (*)
  - ... -- I can think even of an "Internet Platform" that will 
promote that aspect (a better name is needed).

I think this will not alienate any of the two categories mentioned. 

(*) I thing gen_server and gen_fsm, for example, are general enough 
concepts to not belong to OTP. 

When I learned about Erlang, I belonged to "those who don't" and it 
wasn't really a problem just to ignore all the OTP stuff at first. 
But it took a while to gather the courage to dig into Erlang, and 
when it comes to OTP I didn't really get the hang of it until I 
attended the course. 

There is a lot more to babble about, but I won't bore you with it :-)
regards,
Vlad