VC++ extension

Tim Peters tim_one at email.msn.com
Fri Aug 11 04:33:04 EDT 2000


[Courageous]
> The [C++] designers biffed it, because they failed to design
> link-level compatability. This is a manycolored problem; a symbol
> name mangling standard would have been a good first step.

[Alex Martelli]
> <sarcasm level='mild'>
> The designers of C++ (and those of all other languages I'm aware of)
> failed to design right into their languages a way to end world hunger,
> cure HIV, and brew a good cup of coffee, too.  Do you also count
> these as instances of "biffing"?
> </sarcasm>

<earnestness level='unquestioned'>
It's not widely known, but should be:  Python was designed in such a way
that if there ever comes a day on which it is actively used by a mere pi *
the square root of the Earth's population on that day, human hunger and
disease will in fact end.  This is a mathematical certainty, and indeed easy
to prove from examining Python's source code in the right way.  There is one
catch, however:  hunger and disease will return if more people happen to use
Perl on that day, and even worse than before, by that day's exact ratio of
Perl::Python programmers.  Alas, even Guido hasn't learned how to make a
good cup of coffee.
</earnestness>

some-things-a-programming-language-just-can't-do-ly y'rs  - tim






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