I'm excited about Darklang
A niche programming platform called Darklang, which tightly couples a bespoke functional language with managed cloud infrastructure, is drawing both enthusiasm and skepticism. Supporters like its promise of radically simplifying backend and web app development, while critics worry about proprietary licensing, deep vendor lock‑in, unclear project maturity, and even the founders’ prominent political messaging. Many commenters argue that similar convenience could be achieved with libraries in mainstream languages, and urge clearer positioning, better documentation, and more realistic scope if Darklang is to gain wider adoption.
Licensing, Ownership & Lock‑in
- Several commenters refuse to adopt Darklang under its current “Dark Core” license, especially because language, infra, and hosting are tightly coupled.
- Concern: work could become “hostage” if the company changes direction or fails, unlike normal OSS projects or cloud providers that are easier to leave.
- Team acknowledges the old licensing “won’t fly” and says they’re working on a new model that’s more open while trying to avoid being cloned by large clouds.
Value Proposition & Messaging
- Many readers find the homepage’s long “no X, no Y” list off‑putting and confusing, especially items like “no git,” “no SQL,” “no servers,” which don’t obviously relate to a language.
- Feedback: lead with what Darklang is and its unique capabilities (tight infra integration, easy deployment, versioned functions, etc.), not generic FP features like Option types.
- Requests for clearer positioning, concrete examples, and real‑world sample apps; some web devs are unsure whether it fits their use cases.
Platform Scope & All‑in‑One Design
- Darklang is perceived as a bespoke language tightly bound to its platform (infra, IDE, built‑in version control).
- Some are skeptical of “all‑in‑one” tools and in‑language VCS, preferring general‑purpose languages plus libraries and standard tools like git.
- Darklang’s team argues git is not optimal, and an integrated, always‑synced, team‑aware model can be better, but details are still work‑in‑progress.
- Concern about niche needs being blocked by platform limitations; comparison to past “backend‑as‑a‑service” and Meteor‑style approaches that struggled at scale.
Maturity & Status
- “Classic” Darklang is considered usable for small web APIs and side projects but imperfect; the new “next” version is described as not ready for serious use yet.
- Lack of up‑to‑date tutorials, examples, and browser support (non‑Chrome) reinforces the sense of early‑stage, experimental status.
AI & Strategic Direction
- Some criticize Darklang for “going all in on AI”; others argue robust LLM integration into dev tools is exactly the right move.
- Darklang’s team seems committed to using AI heavily, including for things like future code export.
Politics & Branding
- A prominent political banner on the homepage (about the Israel–Palestine conflict) is polarizing.
- Some feel it’s inappropriate for developer tooling and a reason to avoid adoption; others strongly support taking a moral stand even at business risk.