title: What programming language features are well suited for developing a live coding framework?
body: <p>I would like to build a "live coding framework".</p>
  
  <p>I should explain what is meant by "live coding framework". I'll do so by comparing live coding to traditional coding.</p>
  
  <p>Generally put, in traditional programming you write code, sometimes compile it, then launch an executable or open a script in some sort of interpreter. If you want to modify your application you must repeat this process. A live coding framework enables code to be updated while the application is running and reloaded on demand. Perhaps this reloading happens each time a file containing code is changed or by some other action. Changes in the code are then reflected in the application as it is running. There is no need to close the program and to recompile and relaunch it. </p>
  
  <p>In this case, the application is a windowed app that has an update/draw loop, is most likely using OpenGL for graphics, an audio library for sound processing ( SuperCollider? ) and ideally a networking lib.</p>
  
  <p>Of course I have preferred languages, though I'm not certain that any of them would be well suited for this kind of architecture. Ideally I would use Python, Lua, Ruby or another higher level language. However, a friend recently suggested Clojure as a possibility, so I am considering it as well.</p>
  
  <p><strong>I would like to know not only what languages would be suitable for this kind of framework but, generally, what language features would make a framework such as this possible</strong>.</p>