Larry Wall's comment on python...

mmaddox at hcsmail.com mmaddox at hcsmail.com
Fri Sep 6 18:06:30 EDT 2002


>	- It causes me to factor code better.  Python encourages a style
that
>	  obviates (some of) the need for the kind of syntactic structures
found in older
>	  block-structured languages.

I would argue that the "older" block-structured languages were considered
a breakaway from the column-based languages - RPG2 and Fortran, for
instance. Although I grant the Python structure and the column-based
structures are not completely analogous, they BOTH burden the programmer
with arbitrary rules to govern the physical layout of the code. Although
this layout may be considered more elegant from a readability standpoint,
it's the enforcement of the layout that is irritating to the more
Libertarian of us. It's a mindset difference similar to that between
Pascal and C++.

Having read Wall's comments on Slashdot, I think he is really just mildly
complaining about ridiculously long page-widths in his editor, not really
slashing Python seriously. He's just giving some props to his own baby at
the expense of another. (He had to say something, right?) You must agree
that Python can lead you to horizontal scrolling in your editor - the bane
of user interface design.

Yes, I am new here. Hi, everyone.
--
Michael F. Maddox
Senior Software Engineer
Hayes
Tallahassee, FL, USA





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