[REBOL] Re: Tuples - Was Pair! thread
From: carl:cybercraft at: 9-Feb-2002 11:24
On 09-Feb-02, [Robbo1Mark--aol--com] wrote:
> Carl,
> with the greatest respect, I have to totally disagree with you here.
> When REBOl get's changed or improved or functionality is upgraded do
> all changes get upgraded across all platforms immediately?
> The historical answer is no!
If I remember the last upgrade correctly, they either nearly all or
were all upgraded together. As an Amiga user I noticed this, as the
Amiga version nearly always had been the last to be upgraded.
Whatever, they were getting better and better at the upgrades in my
opinion, and currently all Core and all View versions are at the same
version numbers. Can you show me an open-source project on a similar
number of platforms where that is the case? Where all versions are
at the same version numbers /across platforms?/
> Similarly with /View/Pro & /Command & (/IOS whenever that is
> realeased) all have additonal features and functionality which mean
> thatREBOl scripts written for these targets can only run on certain
> platforms and not the full range which REBOL/Core currently
> supports.
True. How would open-sourcing REBOL stop that from happening?
> Just like HTML & Javascript and everything else you have to use the
> most up to date programs if you want to incorporate all the newest
> functionalities.
True, and the most up-to-date Cores and Views are available to all
that want them on the platforms RT supports. Do you think that's the
same with browsers within platforms, never mind across them?
> Write Once / Run Anywhere is and always will be a terrific ideal and
> target to shoot for but this state of perfection is always an ideal
> and rarely a reality. In a REBOL context only achievable if your
> scripts stick to the lowest common denominator which is REBOL/Core
> and even then you have to specify which version of /Core your script
> relies upon.
So ignore trying for the ideal? I think there's general agreement
that Core and View being seperate is a good idea, and in an evolving
language, breaking some older scripts is inevitable as it's improved.
(Unless that not happening is part of the languages design, which I
think is in Perls's case.)
> I've got old verrsions of /Core on my machines which
> will not run every script that Core 2.5 will.
Gosh. Just think, if they did RT wouldn't even have had to write 2.5!
They sure got it wrong there, eh?
> Old software exists and continues to be useful that is why it is so
> difficult to be compatible across all platforms unless you shoot for
> the lowest common denominator.
I wouldn't say RT's shooting for the lowest common denominator. If
they were, they'd be trying to use the GUIs that came with the OSs
they're targeting. But they're not - they've designed their own GUI,
which will allow them (and us) to have the GUIs of our desires,
windows use excepted.
--
Carl Read