Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Portal:Haskell (programming language) (2nd nomination)

Portal:Haskell (programming language)

Misconceived, fully automated pseudo-portal based on a single navbox, about a narrow topic. Propose outright deletion.

This portal was created[1] in February 2019‎ as a fully-automated portal using {{subst:bpsp3}}. Throughout its existence it has drawn its "selected articles" list solely from the navbox {{Functional programming basics}}, of which it is therefore a redundant fork.

For a full explanation of why this type of portal is redundant, see the two mass deletions of similar portals: one, and two, where there was overwhelming consensus of a very high turnout to delete a total of 2,555 such portals. This portal was not part of the mass output of @The Transhumanist, and I am sure that it was created in all good faith, but nonetheless it uses the same flawed structure which has been so clearly deprecated. There is no curated version to revert to.

In this case, there is a slight oddity, in that the Template:Functional programming basics was created[2] by Ancheta Wis (talk · contribs) only an hour before they created[3] this portal, and is used only in this portal. Even odder, the portal is all about computing concepts, rather than topics specifically relate to Haskell. I checked the first five links in the current[4] version of the navbox, and two of them don't even mention the word "Haskell":

Functional programming
Abstract rewriting system — doesn't mention the word "Haskell"
Ad hoc polymorphism — doesn't mention the word "Haskell"
Algebraic data type
Anonymous function

I don't know quite what was being attempted here, but the effect is akin to making a portal about the Ford Model T motor car based on a template which consisted of links to generalised automotive engineering concepts most of which don't even mention the Model T. Maybe somewhere in this there is a potential navbox for broader use once the formatting issues are resolved, but it's not my area ... and this is not a Haskell Portal.

So we are left with the question of whether there could be a portal on this topic. The head article Haskell (programming language) is a decent, B-class article, and there is an eponymous Category:Haskell programming language family. However, in total that category+subcats contains only 67 articles, of which only 16 are explicitly assessed as above start-class, i.e. as FA, GA, A, B, C or list-class:

That is not enough to make viable portal, even if all of the topics were closely tied to Haskell (and I'm not sure that they are). It doesn't even meet the absurdly low minimum of 20 articles advocated by some portal editors.

So I say just delete it, without inviting re-creation.

Note that is portal was previously discussed in March–April 2019 at WP:Miscellany for deletion/Portal:Haskell (programming language). That discussion became a bit of a WP:TRAINWRECK due to the bundling of portals on two very different languages. It was closed[5] by @Amorymeltzer as "Keep (mostly procedural)", with an addendum "No prejudice against individual renomination" ... so here is that renomination. I will ping the participants in the previous discussion once I have made a list. BrownHairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 01:20, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Ping participants in WP:Miscellany for deletion/Portal:Haskell (programming language): @Legacypac, Pldx1, Meszzy2, Pythoncoder, Ancheta Wis, TJRC, Levivich, Scope creep, Northamerica1000, Hunterm267, Robert McClenon, Klez, Johnuniq, Thryduulf, and Hut 8.5. --BrownHairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 01:50, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
In my reply, which is under construction, I intend to add portal-style snippets; you may wish to bear with me as I am composing them:
1. Closure (computer programming)
2. Conditional (computer programming)
3. Corecursion
4. First-class function
5. Lazy evaluation
6. Monad (functional programming)
7. Pattern matching
8. Polymorphism (computer science)
9. Set-builder notation
10. Tree traversal
11. Trie
12. Type family
13. Glasgow Haskell Compiler
14. Xmonad
15. In the Haskell (programming language) Core, the implementation of Core is the Girard-Reynolds type system, which has proven to be quite stable over decades, while allowing expansion of the experimental features of Haskell.
16. Haskell features

In addition, I intend to add snippets for:

Abstract rewriting system: In the Haskell compiler, some expressions it encounters, say lambda expressions, can be rewritten to simplify them for the optimizer, which speeds up execution to near-C speeds.
Ad hoc polymorphism

--Ancheta Wis (talk | contribs) 03:42, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Delete. I think the creator's justification for this portal was always a bit wonky. I do really think they slightly care about this portal, though. For example, I really do like the "Need help?" section:

"Need help?"

{{Box-header colour | Need help?}}
Do you have a question about Haskell (programming language) that you can't find the answer to?
*Since Haskell has [[Evaluation_strategy#Non-strict_evaluation|nonstrict semantics]] its behavior is very different from most languages; be patient with its error messages, which are quite precise. Try to understand the specific message. This process could take take time.
*See the Associated Wikimedia links below (such as the Haskell Wikibooks, or Wikiversity, to get started)
*Consider asking at the [[Wikipedia:Reference desk|Wikipedia reference desk]].
{{Box-footer}}

That is a clear deviation from {{subst:Bpsp3}} which I find commendable (given most of the trash we have seen). However, I can't ignore the fact that this portal has numerous insurmountable problems. For example, its selected images section is deprived of all the context that would make those images educational/helpful as it just rips them per {{Transclude files as random slideshow| Haskell (programming language)||}}.
I also find the creation of a single-use template rather than just making an embedded list an odd choice. I did not notice that before. (edit conflict) –MJL ‐Talk‐^☖ 02:03, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Just to clarify, my !vote is solely based as a response to the portal's creator "Please keep" !vote in the last MfD. I find the question to be: Does this portal successfully educate readers on the haskell programming language? I find the answer to be no after like an hour and a half of reviewing the portal and still being unsure what the difference is between Haskell and Java. –MJL ‐Talk‐^☖ 02:08, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@User:MJL,Haskell is very different from Java in its evaluation style for expressions, being non-strict; this is a major difference because I am not sure how the JVM could properly treat an item in weak head normal form, which is an allowed concept in Haskell. One result of this style is that an infinite list can be handled, allowing straightforward computation of expressions involving prime numbers, such as twin primes; this would crash a JVM, which assumes strict evaluation, whereas a Haskell twin-prime script will just keep running. --Ancheta Wis (talk | contribs) 03:42, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Delete The portal has nothing to say that is not at the article where it is properly explained, in context. Almost all the items in the eponymous category mentioned above are generic and are only related to the topic in the sense that Haskell (like many other languages) uses the item. Johnuniq (talk) 03:03, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I am composing a reply which shows the relation between the article and the selected articles noted by BHG. --Ancheta Wis (talk | contribs) 03:42, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Delete - I will state more bluntly what I did at the first MFD, which is that the arguments advanced in favor of the portal are nonsensical, and on the contrary are reasons why this particular language, being a rather strange and complex language, is inappropriate for a portal. They may be arguments why the language should be more widely used or more widely taught, but as arguments for a portal, they are nonsense. I am not sure whether Fortran or Java or C is an appropriate topic for a portal; maybe Programming Languages are, although I think that Computer Programming is the area. This is an automated portal created during a wave of reckless portal creation, and this particular language is another wrong portal topic. Robert McClenon (talk) 03:15, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, Haskell is very different; that is a reason for another take on the topic. That makes a case for a portal. --Ancheta Wis (talk | contribs) 03:42, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]