Re: LFM + LFSP = LFE?

[Paul Prescod <address@hidden>]

LFE == CP4E

"CNRI proposes to undertake a research effort called Computer 
Programming for Everybody (CP4E). This effort intends to improve the 
state of the art of computer use, not by introducing new hardware, nor 
even (primarily) through new software, but simply by empowering all 
users to be computer programmers."

"We're looking forward to a future where every computer user will be 
able to "open the hood" of their computer and make improvements to the 
applications inside. We believe that this will eventually change the 
nature of software and software development tools fundamentally."

"The fact that Python can be used to develop large applications plays 
into a different aspect of our vision, namely the development of open 
source application software that can be tailored by users who are not 
expert programmers, but have learned some programming skills."

  * http://www.python.org/doc/essays/cp4e.html

The primary reason I have been interested in Python for all of these 
years is because it is a CP4E. I have always found the LFM/LFSP 
dichotomy to be artificial (like the "scripting" versus "general 
purpose" and "application" versus "scripting" dicotomies) and Python was 
the first langauge I found that took seriously the notion that computer 
scientists, novices and hackers could and should use the same language. 
I personally find it sort of sad to hear people say they are developing 
a LFM or a LFSP instead of stretching their imaginations to figure out 
how to build a LFE.

  Paul Prescod