D7314@UWAVM.BITNET.UUCP (05/28/87)
Date: Wed, 27 May 87 19:13 PDT
From: Patrick Ryan <D7314@UWAVM>
Subject: Wrong group, guys!
To: Apple SIG Mailing List <INFO-APPLE@BRL.ARPA>
Please, please, please...
No more wrangling about which language beats which.
If you *must* argue, then do it in the appropriate SIG, no here!!!
Thank you,
Patrick Ryangwyn@BRL.ARPA.UUCP (05/28/87)
I agree that religion doesn't belong in this newsgroup, but I disagree that it belongs in any language specific newsgroup. Their readers also do not want to hear religious arguments. Please note that, although I defended C against several unjustified attacks, in an attempt to counter bias for the sake of people who have to choose a language for their Apple program development, I have refrained from making claims that it is "better" than, for example, Modula-2. Such claims are silly, since programming languages (like individual human beings) are multi-dimensional and cannot meaningfully be arrayed in any universal linear sequence of "goodness". Practically every language has its good points, bad points, proper uses, improper uses, powers, deficiencies, good style, bad style, economic advantages, economic drawbacks, and minuses, aesthetic virtues, and aesthetic blemishes. All these dimensions (and more) should be weighted together when making a choice. Consider that a metal sphere is an aesthetically "ideal" hammer: it's quite pleasingly symmetric, it scales cleanly to any size, it's homogeneous, etc. However, the ugly old single-size claw hammer does a MUCH better job pounding nails. Isn't it a pity it's not perfect like the sphere?
lc@pbhyd.UUCP (05/29/87)
In article <8705280225.aa09668@VGR.BRL.ARPA> gwyn@BRL.ARPA (Doug Gwyn, VLD/VMB) writes (in part): > >Please note that, although I defended C against several >unjustified attacks, in an attempt to counter bias for >the sake of people who have to choose a language for their >Apple program development... >...Practically every language has its good >points, bad points, proper uses, improper uses, powers, >deficiencies, good style, bad style, economic advantages, >economic drawbacks, and minuses, aesthetic virtues, and >aesthetic blemishes. All these dimensions (and more) >should be weighted together when making a choice. I'm sure this group would enjoy reading a discussion of the merits of the various languages available for the Apple, with an enumeration of the points mentioned by gwyn, as they are manefested in the implementation for the Apple. This might, indeed, allow the user to 'choose a language for their Apple program development...' Other discussions (flames) defending the merits of one language against attacks, justified or not, add little to this conference. Such discussions are probably of interest to some readers, but the minority is too small to justify the global distribution. --- Larry Colton {ihnp4,pyramid,qantel}!ptsfa!pbhyd!lc Pacific * Bell