This document attempts to analyze the fundamental reasons between the differences in Sather-1 and Sather-K. A goal of this work is to make it easier to understand the motivations of the two Sather groups so that future discussions will not be bogged down arguing about symptoms when there are fundamental causes that must first be resolved. In general we ignore minor issues such as syntax.
In this document, S1 and SK denote the Sather 1.1 language design and the Sather-K design. S2 is used to refer to a future convergence between S1 and SK. At some places, recommendations for S2 appear, which represent the mutual best judgement of the authors at the time of writing but should not be construed as necessarily representing the views of either the S1 or SK group.
This document is not intended to be a porting guide. It is an analysis of designs originally intended for setting the stage for S2. Lots of minor syntax and library differences are ignored.