[REBOL] Re: Slashdot REBOL mention
From: chris:starforge at: 29-Oct-2001 20:53
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#Monday 29 October 2001 14:57# Message from Ammon Johnson:
> <Disclaimer: I am not a big Perl fan, just someone with a little
> experience.>
>
> From what I have seen of Perl, Perl DOES use dialecting, it just
hasn't
> been touted like dialecting in REBOL has. Perl is NOT READABLE, that
seems
> to be its biggest characteristic.
I have been forced to learn Perl, and while I agree it is not the most
likable language on the planet but there are a few points I think should
be considered:
- - A script is as readable as the author makes it. I can write obfusticated
REBOL as easily as I can Perl. I can write very readable, sensible code
in either language as well.
- - I use REBOL and Perl for two things: CGI scripting and database work. As
far as CGI is concerned they are not particularly different - once you
get the hang of the syntax it is almost possible to copy a piece of REBOL
code, paste it and then add ing a few symbols (function paramters aside,
those are stupid in Perl..) As for the database work.. as I have
explained elsewhere, I needed Oracle access but bying /command was not
an option, neither was using mySQL instead. Perl and DBI did the job as
easily.
You see, if you're going to get all fancy with the language then I agree -
REBOL would be far better than Perl. But I'd use C/C++ or even Java if I
wanted to do anything particularly complicated because I believe that each
language has its place. Where I think REBOL is suitable, I use REBOL.
Where I think Perl would do the job as well or better, I use Perl. REBOL
is not the be all and end all of languages; it has good and bad points the
same as any other. If you want to do dialects, use REBOL. If you want
cheap database and shell access, use Perl. If you want speed use C. If you
want platform independant graphical programs, use Java. Many people here
will disagree with this view and think that REBOL can be used for all of
them. If everyone agreed on everything life would be boring.
Chris
- --
New sig in the works
Explorer2260 Designer and Coder
http://www.starforge.co.uk
- --
E = MC ** 2 +- 3db
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