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RE: bindings and assignments (was: Re: continuations)



At 1:52 PM -0700 8/21/03, Gregor Kiczales wrote:
>I probably shouldn't get into this, but much of this conversation seems
>to be a rehash of discussions from 20 years ago about why Lisp adoption
>didn't happen, technical superiority and all that.
>

I hope that everyone understands that I am not trying
to rehash stupid useless arguments about why Lisp or
whatever didn't succeed.  In fact, I agree entirely
that the success of a new technology is a socially
constructed phenomenon whose basis is only partly
dependent on technical issues.

The point I hope to make is that, to myself and many
other outside observers, Java cheaped out on a lot of
things *unnecessarily*, and, while fixing those things
might not have enhanced its chances for success, they
probably would not have interfered either.  And had
they been addressed earlier, many people might now be
in a much better position than they find themselves.

I don't plan to say any more on the subject, since it
is now past the point of my beating a dead horse...

And besides, how often do I get to reply to both Gregor
and Guy in the same message?  ;-)