Re: What would your ideal language be like...

[Neel Krishnaswami <address@hidden>]

Francois-Rene Rideau writes:
> On Tue, Feb 18, 2003 at 11:19:24AM -0500, Kevin Kelleher wrote:
> > Fine, but if I have to *hunt* to discover how a language deals
> > with files and strings, it is a clear indication that the language is
> > made for a domain quite different from the one in which I work.
>
> If you complain about having to learn, and about things not being
> taylored for your own precise needs and priorities, it is a clear
> indication that you should get another job, and hire someone else to
> do the programming for you.

I don't think that's fair. It makes a lot of sense to start by a)
learning how to rewrite the programs you already know in a new
language, b) learning how to write those programs idiomatically in the
new language, and c) making full use of the new language's
capabilities.

Taking this path means that the number of new ideas that need to be
assimilated at each step is kept under control. I think this is why
Haskell has had such a hard time of it -- right at step a) you are
thrown into the world of monads and combinators and typeclasses, so
the learning curve for a dabbler can be quite formidable.

-- 
Neel Krishnaswami
neelk@alum.mit.edu