Does anybody think that learning Linden Scripting Language is worth it?

Question

I'm just looking for people's opinions on this...

I really got worried when Second Life came out; I thought it was going to be a game changer for the Internet; Until I realized that outside of programmers and college students there really aren't that many people with the sort of hardware and Internet connection requirements needed to have a decent user experience with Second Life.

That compounded with the fact that a Linden Labs server can really only handle about 70 people visiting a land at one time. Thus whatever interactive 3D content you create on Second Life cannot possibly generate the number of hits that you might get with a traditional web app.

But even so, for the future...when maybe they find a solution to this problem, is it worth learning LSL?

Attract

Answer 1

As usual with such questions, it depends on your goals.

Reasons to learn LSL:

• You just want to understand how such distributed/parallel/interactive systems work.
• You're already involved with SecondLife and want to stretch yourself.
• You have a contract with a company that wants to establish a SecondLife presence.

Reasons not to learn LSL:

• There aren't enough hours in a week to dabble with everything.
• There are plenty of languages that have something to teach you that you'll more likely use.
• Low probability that a job opportunity to use it will fall out of the sky.

I have nothing against LL or SL, and might dabble with LSL for fun if I had nothing else to do. But I already have lots of other things to do.

Potluck

Answer 2

LSL is nice little event-oriented language with great time/satisfaction ratio. It's a really good way to get into something totally different than usual oh-so-boring webapps stuff. You know the drill:

• server (Java)
• desktop (.NET)
• web (Javascript / PHP / etc.)
• low level stuff (C/C++)

They all look alike compared to LSL/Second Life platform.

Plus, it's great to earn a few bucks on a side. There's a big, healthy and vibrant Second Life community, LSL programmers are in demand, and micropayments in Second Life are alive and well.

How big is Second Life?

First and foremost, it doesn't really matter how big it is. The real question most people want to know is, "is it the next big thing?" It might be, or it might fail miserably. Maybe it already failed as mainstream product and defined itself as niche forever. But whatever it is, technologically it's bleeding edge, just like Amazon web services or iPhone. It is also only 3D MMO world which is not a game and more resembles Facebook (which is a 2D web phenomenon) than, say, World of Warcraft. Linden Labs (creators of Second Life) are also leading the only existing initiative which tries to connect 3D worlds and standardize protocols, which is pretty smart compared to other web platforms like Facebook, Amazon and Google stuff, who are still trying to lock developers into their platforms.

But for the sake of argument...

Comparing maximum of 70 people in one Second Life simulator doesn't tell much. Simulator is equivalent of physical space (256 m²) in Second Life, and is something like web server in 2D web. How much users can concurrently access one web server doesn't tell much about a website it hosts, and you can always add more web servers. Big Second Life events usually span multiple simulators anyway, and there are thousands of simulators.

Here's a link that compares the landmass of Second Life to several other references (like WoW). Also, some of the more useful current statistics are:

• 86000 maximum concurrent users
• 40000 minimum concurrent users at any time
• 1444530 users logged in last 60 days

This is way lesser than WoW which hit 1 million concurrent users in China alone in April 2008, but then again, all content in WoW is pretty much developed by Blizzard, so you don't really have an option to create content in WoW.

Is it worth it?

It depends. If you're looking to get into LSL just because it might be mainstream some day, no, it's probably not worth it.

On the other hand, it's still a new area, and it's still relatively easy to create something original in LSL. In a year or two, it won't be as easy. In comparison, competition in fashion market in SL is much more fierce and it's really hard to top available products; great time to get into fashion in Second Life was about two years ago (it's not too late now, but you have to be really good).

There are roughly four kinds of good reasons to learn LSL (which can overlap):

• you're a Second Life user who wants to be able to create things you can't do without LSL (and don't have somebody else who can do it for you or don't want to pay somebody)
• you're a programmer interested in 3D virtual worlds
• you want to earn some extra money in a fun way (yes, it's possible, and though there are people to whom Second Life pays bills it's more exception than a rule)
• you're a programmer and want to work with professional escorts and compensate, and don't really want to know how old or good looking the chick is in real life ;) - seriously, Second Life is great for stumbling into different people, and LSL skills will take you to some places where Java simply can't

Be aware that creating 3D content in Second Life usually involves more than programming. It's easy to cross into Photoshop/design, video, 3D architecture (Autocad), animation, marketing, etc. It's also likely that you'll work with fashion designers, real architects who're trying to prototype buildings in LSL, educators, and all kinds of different professions.

Guernica

Answer 3

LSL IMHO is not really a great language, I think it even started more as a hack to quickly make SL object scriptable.

As Second Life now uses mono and LSL just on top I'd expect that on the long run there will also be "real" language such as C# or Python provided. It definitely would make sense and there also has been some questionaire about this some time ago.

There also are standardization efforts underway at IETF (called MMOX) which might or might not come up with a different or new way of scripting anyway.

I am also not sure what you actually want to do with it. If you are planning to develop web apps with it, I really would discourage that. Use it in SL because there is no other choice or simply use a real language outside SL.

Wyler

Answer 4

I myself am a LSL scripter, and it's totaly worth it! I've made my own company in SecondLife and i earn a nice extra penny by it!

Plus it's quite simple, and you build the world around you, so you can make a car to all your own specifications!

And as sayd above, there might be other types of scripts available soon, tough i think it will be good to at least know the LSL basics.

Colwell

Answer 5

I've got a 'day job' writing LSL.

As many people have pointed out, it's a lot of fun to write. So, given that it should, if you're the sort of person who reads stackoverflow, take a day or less to learn it, it's well worth the time just to assure yourself there's something to computing besides J2EE stacks.

As for learning it, there are many schools with classes, but these usually aren't pointed at programmers. An hour spent browsing the LSL Portal will give you a good overview.

Will you get a raft of job offers to come write LSL? No. Will you get rich selling scripted guns in Second Life? No. Will you continue to be on the front, and not the back, edge of the profession? yes. Will the experience broaden your horizons? Definitely

Does working in a video game beat making ajax web pages? Way ya!

Are you going to invent the next really cool, profitable use of web pages? Are you sure there IS one? That area's been mined a lot already.

Are you going to invent the next really cool, profitable use of virtual worlds? Dunno, that depends on you. At least you've got a new field to play in.

Alexandrina

Answer 6

No, I don't think so.

Moonset

Answer 7

How long does it take you to learn a new language?

What are the benefits you're going to gain from learning LSL now, vs. whenever you need it?

Are you learning it for fun or for finding a job?

Simply put, there are too many unknowns. If, for example, you're unemployed and looking for a job, anything that increases your chances of finding a job is a Good Thing. There are probably not many LSL programmers out there. On the other hand, how many LSL job openings are there? You're probably better off learning a popular, in-depand language that you don't know yet, or honing your skills in those languages you already know.

Diggs

Answer 8

I would bet the linden labs will soon be supporting more "real" languages than lsl. They have already moved to using Mono to turn its lsl into .net bytecode, it seems like a logical next step to allow other languages that can be compiled and run with mono to be used. Perhaps putting a library or two out to support the built in functions.

Atleast this is my hope. I think if they did open the languages available up to others, they will get more adoption and more interesting content.

Cheboksary

Answer 9

I'm with billyy on this one! I moved fairly easily into LSL programming from other languages and I use it for several reasons - to enhance my own SL experience; to push boundaries of what's possible in SL; to create items that lots of people buy (that's a double whammy btw - I make enough money to cover all the costs of the game and a bit more besides AND people seem to enjoy what I make!).

I've also found it's helped with learning C# as it's been a gentler way into the language.

And finally there are many scripters in SL, most of whom are more than happy to share their expertise. A question posted in the Script Academy group will nearly always get instant, well-informed answers.

Of course it really goes right back to the very first reply from jeol - "As usual with such questions, it depends on your goals."

Chichihaerh

Answer 10

As a scripter and builder, I have found it as a nice easy medium to tinker with conceptual ideas that I may apply elsewhere. Also, with given knowledge, the language does apply outside of SL, and the load of said operations are taxing the SL servers and not your own PC.

For instance, you can script an object to gather information from other websites and send summaries of this information to you via email. This way, I can guarantee that I get the information regardless of my own computer's on/off status.

I have also made some dinero scripting for builders who cannot script...and they typically pay well. The trick is to start small, and make more as you become more reputable.

Zola

Answer 11

Bit late to the party on this one but ... for anyone coming across this now .... while the previous answers cover the 'business case' aspects, and also the benefit of just doing something different quite well, there is one thing to be aware of though which may affect your decision.

LSL has quite a number of "features" liable to drive one up the wall. Some are inherent in the language, others relate to bizarre decisions in the design of the built-in functions. [partial list at the end of this to give you the 'flavour']. Also you are working in a very limited environment where a single script is limited to 64k for code & data. You will need to hone your kludging skills!

I would strongly advise against getting involved unless you a specific SL related need to fill that cannot be filled another way. You will spend a lot of time coding your way around various SL specific problems over and above your particular application.

...

partial list of LSL 'features': simply given as example

• no arrays, just lists
• 64k memory limit per script
• reading a notecard (text file) requires your code to queue an event request, and an event handler to receive each line and request the next line
• there is a built in function to display a dialog box of buttons for user actions ... but ... your script is not notified if the user just clicks it away ('ignore' which is like [x] close) , nor is there any way for the script to force-close the dialog for example after a time-out

Perhaps one reason to learn might be the challenge of writing good code in such an environment?

Winnah

heh that about sums it up! yes these "features", and many others, should be looked at before pivoting any aspect of your business around secondlife. but the challenge does exist, that's also true, and it's a wonderful social environment to practice in. – Subchloride