[REBOL] Re: What language am I looking for?
From: kenneth:nwinet at: 14-May-2001 21:07
Hi,
The lever is my favorite analogy; all machines are levers. Which begs the
question: so what kind of leverage does a computer provide and what is the
best way to take advantage of it?
Rishi Oswal said:
> load and save ...<snip>... It's really easy
Yes, because the data type contains the missing information that otherwise
would require parameters. It's brilliant.
It takes the burden off the programmer (less to remember) so the
programmer's brilliance can be focused on what it should be focused on.
>In my opinion, it is ok to overwrite words.
> Infact, if you overwrite a word with your own word,
> chances are that you don't need that particular word
> in your program..otherwise you wouldn't have
> overwritten it!
Yes it is ok, but does it put more or less burden on the programmer? You
used the expression 'chances are.' Isn't that the thing you want to avoid
when writing code (given how literal computers tend to be?) Unforetunately,
every solution I come up with this problem carries it's own burdens or is
just plain ugly...
Here's an example of what I mean... If we change the default to no
reassignment we could use another symbol for explicit reassignment.
word: [to assign]
word:: [to reassign]
But I've always found double colons to be ugly. Any thoughts?
> Rebol is one of the easiest languages to pick up after
> you haven't used it in a while!
I believe this to be an extremely profound statement. It says something
about the essense of the language. The rightness of it. This is a quality
of natural language.
> the most fun language i've ever used.
Thanks Rishi, if it wasn't fun, they couldn't pay me enough to do it!
