TouchDevelop vs Red
When comparing TouchDevelop vs Red, the Slant community recommends Red for most people. In the question“What is the best programming language to learn first?” Red is ranked 40th while TouchDevelop is ranked 54th. The most important reason people chose Red is:
Other languages have complex, multi-step setups that beginners often get stuck on. Red has no installer, no setup, no dependencies*, just a single small (~1MB) command-line executable with both the compiler and repl. On Windows, you don't even have to launch executable from the command line--it has a GUI-console.
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Pros
Pro Advanced editor
- Browser based that is semi-structured as well as touchscreen friendly with a configurable presentation.
Pro Powerful APIs
APIs exist for persistent and shared data as well as for game engines and accelerometer, geolocation etc.
Pro Simple toolchain
Other languages have complex, multi-step setups that beginners often get stuck on. Red has no installer, no setup, no dependencies*, just a single small (~1MB) command-line executable with both the compiler and repl. On Windows, you don't even have to launch executable from the command line--it has a GUI-console.
Pro Very simple syntax
Red syntax is a lot like Rebol. It's easier than most languages for beginners to pick up.
Pro Both low and high-level
Red has low enough access to do systems programming, but it's expressive enough for high-level scripting.
Pro Low cognitive load
Red has very simple syntax that's easy to learn. It gets out of your way and lets you think about the problem instead, enhancing productivity.
Cons
Con No collection literals
Collections can be initialized only verbosely.
Con No union types
There are no ADTs, not even enums.
Con No advanced expressions
There is no conditional expression or pattern matching.
Con Not production ready
Red is still under development and not considered stable.
Con Still in beta
It mostly works. It's good enough for building usable applications, but some planned features are missing.