[Python-Dev] Re: [Fwd: Discussion: Introducing new operators formatrix computation]

[Paul Prescod]

"Eric S. Raymond" wrote:
> 
> ...
> 
> I agree that supporting user-defined syntax threatens to fragment the language.
> To avoid that, perhaps it would be best to leave what are in effect
> user-definable hooks in Python's lexical space.

I really don't see how it is better to fragment the semantic space by
encouraging people to project random meanings onto operators with no
intrinsic meanings. 

Given the choice, I would prefer to have the language explicitly
fragment into domain-specific variants with their own grammars. At least
then I know that I'm really dealing with a new language that is
Pythonic, but not Python. DTML, a Python XSL and this matrix Python are
examples of languages that might benefit from an easy way to be hosted
on the Python VM and interact with pure Python modules. Also a
statically typed Python variant might be intersting.
-- 
 Paul Prescod - Not encumbered by corporate consensus
It's difficult to extract sense from strings, but they're the only
communication coin we can count on. 
	- http://www.cs.yale.edu/~perlis-alan/quotes.html