Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
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From: oz@ursa.ccs.yorku.ca (Ozan Yigit)
Subject: Re: scheme [Re: What does an anti-perl look like]
In-Reply-To: skrenta@amix.commodore.com's message of 14 Jun 91 17: 51:08 GMT
Message-ID: <OZ.91Jun15031131@ursa.ccs.yorku.ca>
Sender: news@newshub.ccs.yorku.ca (USENET News System)
Organization: York U. Communications Research & Development
References: <OZ.91Jun12001150@ursa.ccs.yorku.ca> <2625@amix.commodore.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1991 08:11:31 GMT


skrenta@amix.commodore.com (Rich Skrenta) writes:

   Scheme may very well be The Future, but this arrogant attitude does
   nothing to promote the language.

I don't see anything particularly arrogant about a strong suggestion that
there is more to some languages than their syntax might alone suggest, and
that they should perhaps be studied before their dismissal. I also happen to
like scheme a lot, and I can go to some lengths to help people learn more
about the language, hence the posting of a near-complete bibliography.

   Scheme may be wonderful, but you shouldn't dismiss people who complain
   about its syntax.  Their complaints may be valid.

If I were to dismiss people because they complain about the syntax, I would
not try to help them see beneath it by posting real information. Surprizing
as it may seem, I have no strong feelings about lisp syntax, and in the past
I have challenged other people who made unsubstentiated or irrational claims
on the usefullness of such syntax.

Btw: there is at least one book near completion about the representation and
implementation of programming languages that shows the implementation [using
scheme] of scheme-like languages without a lot of brackets. It should be out
before the summer is over.

oz
---
Often it is means that justify ends: Goals    | email: oz@nexus.yorku.ca
advance technique and technique survives even | phone: 416-736-5257 x 33976
when goal structures crumble. -- A. J. Perlis | other: oz@ursa.ccs.yorku.ca





