Z
ZDSmith
blog.zdsmith.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2010
ZDSmith writes about programming languages such as Nim, Elixir, K and Python, along with combinatory programming and digital minimalism.
What HN saysHN commenters recommend the combinatory programming series, praise the Nim for Python programmers piece, and link the Sketches of Elixir post and a literate program.
17HN people shared it
4linked it in comments
41stories submitted
654story points
1 year agolast shared
2010people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1The Dark Path, Or, What If I Don't Want to Quit My Job?3 people · 6 points · first shared 2017 · 1 comments on HN
- 2Sketches of Elixir2 people · 204 points · first shared 2018 · 78 comments on HN
- 3Combinatory Programming2 people · 8 points · first shared 2024 · discussion on HN
- 4Nim for Python Programmers2 people · 5 points · first shared 2017 · 1 comments on HN
- 5An Algebraic Sketch of Poetic Form2 people · 3 points · first shared 2023 · discussion on HN
- 6Digital Minimalism for the Working Hacker1 people · 186 points · first shared 2018 · 105 comments on HN
- 7Posical, the Positivist Calendar for Python1 people · 88 points · first shared 2014 · 74 comments on HN
- 8Two Bites of Data Science in K1 people · 72 points · first shared 2025 · 10 comments on HN
- 9A Combinatory Rosetta Stone1 people · 23 points · first shared 2024 · 4 comments on HN
- 10Some Preliminary Thoughts About a New Card Game Website1 people · 6 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 11The Card Player's Guide to Lockdown (2020)1 people · 6 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 12The plight of the eclectic geek, or, where have all the dilettantes gone?1 people · 5 points · first shared 2010 · 2 comments on HN
- 13A Regular Simplification of Offenbacher Schrift1 people · 4 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
- 14Brzozowski Derivatives: Exercise in Combinatory Style1 people · 3 points · first shared 2025 · discussion on HN
- 15Compile-Time Sort in Nim1 people · 3 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
pietroppeter · 2022-05-05
yes, definitely for me nim has replaced python as my go to language even for small tasks.
I find it even more productive than python thanks to the typing system. An often neglected highlight that I appreciate a lot is the fact that static typing + procedure overload has the additional benefit that names of functions tend to be very natural (you can reuse the name of function if the type signature is different). That along with UFCS (universal function call syntax), allows to create great apis in no times. Also template are a very easy way to boost productivity and allow to write great DSLs. See also an old but still relevant and very valid introduction of Nim for Python programmers [0]
It can work with numpy and even better there is a performant numpy replacement called arraymancer. Take into account that since you do not need to be afraid of loops, even working with standard sequences is very performant. See also the SciNim getting started book [1]
[0]: https://blog.zdsmith.com/posts/nim-for-python-programmers.html
[1]: https://scinim.github.io/getting-started/
veqq · 2025-09-24
I'd like to boost this: https://blog.zdsmith.com/series/combinatory-programming.html
crux · 2021-03-02
I’ve written a fairly long literate program in Literate: https://blog.zdsmith.com/whist.html I really enjoyed the experience. It came out well and it was relatively painless to compose.
xutopia · 2019-01-15
You may be interested in the perspective of another Erlang developer who moved to Elixir: https://blog.zdsmith.com/posts/sketches-of-elixir.html