Back to Home10/10/2025, 10:04:18 PM

BQN "Macros" with •Decompose (2023)

ofalkaed
24 points
6 comments

Mood

thoughtful

Sentiment

positive

Category

tech

Key topics

BQN programming language

macros

functional programming

Debate intensity20/100

The article explores implementing 'macros' in BQN using the •Decompose function, sparking discussion on the trade-offs and potential applications of this approach.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Light discussion

First comment

9d

Peak period

3

Day 9

Avg / period

3

Comment distribution6 data points

Based on 6 loaded comments

Key moments

  1. 01Story posted

    10/10/2025, 10:04:18 PM

    39d ago

    Step 01
  2. 02First comment

    10/19/2025, 1:08:20 PM

    9d after posting

    Step 02
  3. 03Peak activity

    3 comments in Day 9

    Hottest window of the conversation

    Step 03
  4. 04Latest activity

    10/20/2025, 2:58:35 PM

    29d ago

    Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (6 comments)
Showing 6 comments
pfdietz
30d ago
1 reply
It took me a moment to realize what BQN was; I had never heard of it before.
UltraSane
30d ago
1 reply
Almost no one has.
7thaccount
30d ago
1 reply
It's well known in the array community.... which is practically nobody, so you're correct :)

It is exciting to see free and open source languages like this and uiua maturing though.

https://www.uiua.org/

UltraSane
29d ago
1 reply
I really wish I could justify investing time learning these languages but the RoI is too low. Learning TLA+ seems to have a better RoI because LLMs are good at writing programs using a TLA+ specification.
7thaccount
29d ago
I'm in a similar boat. It would be cool ...but how would I use it outside of hobbies.
adamgordonbell
30d ago
My 2 cents on BQN: I am certainly a novice with array languages, but I know they have conceptual power.

    Looking for a modern, powerful language centered on Ken Iverson's array programming paradigm

    BQN aims to remove irregular and burdensome aspects of the APL tradition, and put the great ideas on a firmer footing.
And BQN seems like the closest thing to a 'modern' array language. Modern, meaning, looking like my biased version of what language should look like.

Open source, has namespaces, and you can define your own operators and so on.

Heard of it from conor hoekstra

View full discussion on Hacker News
ID: 45544330Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 11:14:30 AM

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