I think the very reason I like it is the reason it didn’t crossover to mainstream success - it is so minimal it couldn’t compete with the all encompassing standard python library.
NodeJS is an obvious counterpoint to my thesis - it’s minimal stdlib as augmented with tens of thousands of NPM packages to implement every feature. This is my preference, but maybe Lua was too early for this strategy to succeed. The vicious attacks NodeJS gets (read about the leftpad.js debacle) because of their philosophy shows that a lot of people disagree with me, but I like the small language augmented with a rich third-party ecosystem.
Python and NodeJS both beat Lua because they were scripting languages involved with web servers and web clients, and the massive influence of the web on the job market meant that everybody was going to want to learn Python (and Javascript) and then try to apply it blindly to everything.
It doesn't matter if either language might not be competitive with Lua or any other language in terms of design / features.
I would agree with this point in respect to Python, but not Node.
I think Node was in large successful because web developers already have to use JavaScript so the promise of unifying on one language and set of libraries is appealing to many.
OpenResty and Lapis are quite capable in the web space, but they haven’t seen widespread adoption.
What I had drawn from the leftpad event in regards to ecosystem was the improper usage of third-party libraries; depending too much on libraries without actually validating what work they were doing, and how well they were doing it, and the realization this was common behavior throughout the community
I don't recall anything particular to comment on small vs big std library. The above complaint would apply to either case
NodeJS is an obvious counterpoint to my thesis - it’s minimal stdlib as augmented with tens of thousands of NPM packages to implement every feature. This is my preference, but maybe Lua was too early for this strategy to succeed. The vicious attacks NodeJS gets (read about the leftpad.js debacle) because of their philosophy shows that a lot of people disagree with me, but I like the small language augmented with a rich third-party ecosystem.