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

["Herchenroeder, Thomas" <address@hidden>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Francois-Rene Rideau [<hidden>]
> Sent: 18 February, 2003 17:54
> To: ll1-discuss@ai.mit.edu
> Subject: Re: What would your ideal language be like...
> ...
> 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.
> ...
> Maybe you should learn about such wonderful inventions as
> a table of contents, an index, a search engine, an expert system, etc. 

This is a pretty arrogant attitude, don't you think?!

The point I found worthwhile in Kevin's posting was that a language, among
other things, should be *useful*. And that means it should be useful for
real humans doing real work in a real world. I'm very willing to learn and
overcome shortsightedness that is so often the trap of a pragmatic approach
(that's why I'm on this list actually). But I don't think postings on that
level deserve this kind of ironic and disdainful reaction. Just the
opposite: Language designers should be interested and listen to the needs of
every-day users.

It would be a shame, if this list developed an atmosphere, in which
less-than-perfect language users get shouted down by language professionals,
or intimidated to shut up and listen only. That would in my opinion actually
spoil one of the greate potentials of this list.

> ...
> That said, it seems that what you want is perl.
> There you've found it. Now go away.

I hope he doesn't. Nor any of those on the list that follow a pragmatic
rather than an academic approach to programming. 

=Thomas