Definition: Dylan

(DYnamic LANguage) An object-oriented programming language developed at Apple in the late 1980s with assistance from Harlequin Group plc, Carnegie Mellon University and others. Dylan was designed to provide the simplicity of Smalltalk with the efficiency of C++.

Apple later abandoned the project, but Harlequin continued development until 1999 when its parent, Global Graphics, Inc. turned the programming rights over to key Dylan developers who founded a company named Functional Objects, Inc. Supported and sold for a time as Functional Developer, the language's source code was eventually released to the community at large under an open source license.