What I want in a Programming Language

This year, I did advent of code in Python, using it's type system and mypy for type checking. It's been a nice experience - I haven't used python very extensively before, and it's been nice to work with, but I do kind of pine for a compiled language. Especially after reading this article from Daniel Beskin about the power of type systems and working with the compiler.

• The Compiler is Your Best Friend, Stop Lying to It

It has me thinking about what I'd like to have in a programming language, and whether there's one that would better suit me. So, a list:

• Statically typed, with a strong type system including type aliasing.
• Strong Documentation and Community
• Compiled
• blocks delineated by whitespace instead of braces; I think the python style helps its code to appear cleaner
• Pattern Matching by default. It's just fun to use
• Good function composition syntax. This has been my main gripe with Python - when functions are built-in vs class based, you get this weird mix of styles. Take, for example, using a map on a list:

lst: list[int] = list(map(int, input[:-1].split(' ')))

Split is called with dot notation, then enclosed in the other function calls. I'd rather see something like

lst: list[int] = input[:-1] . split(' ') . map(x => int(x)) . toList

I've toyed with a handful of languages; at this point, I've written code in C, C#, Java, Scala, Haskell, Python, Lua and Ada. I think Java and Scala are out just because I don't want to deal with the JVM, Lua is worse than Python for the things I care about. C# on linux is a pain. C doesn't have the functional constructs I'd like to have. Haskell can be tough to reason about with Monads and side-effects. I know Rust has some Haskell-inspired functional stuff, and a very strong community, but it does use braces. Python isn't compiled, but it has most of the other things I'd like to see. I don't know enough about Ada to eliminate it, but I suspect it doesn't implement a lot of functional constructs. It's type system is so dope though.

It feels like I should look deeper into Rust and Haskell. I've written a bit of Haskell, but not enough to say I've really explored it. I've only ever tinkered with LeftWM layouts in Rust; not enough to say I've actually done anything. I'm guessing most other languages are going to be lacking on the community support side. Even Haskell may be too niche. The brace thing is the least important thing to me; maybe I become the latest Rust convert?