Programming in Unison
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Unison is a MIT-licensed programming language, in development since 2013, that explores the ramifications of making code immutable and stored in a database, instead of a set of text files. Unison supports a greatly simplified model for distributed programming — one that describes the configuration of and communication between programs in the same language as the programs themselves. Along the way, it introduces a new approach to interfacing with programming languages, which is tailored to its design.
Every programming language, especially one that is just starting out, needs a niche. Unison's chosen niche is cloud computing — making it easier to build modern distributed systems, by radically simplifying some of the rough edges of existing technologies. While it is certainly possible to throw together simple, local scripts using the language, the core developers' focus is on making the development of distributed systems and web-based applications as seamless as possible. In support of this mission, the language employs a number of unusual features.
