What's better about Ruby than Python?

Brandon J. Van Every vanevery at 3DProgrammer.com
Tue Aug 19 02:25:13 EDT 2003


Alexander Schmolck wrote:
> "Brandon J. Van Every" <vanevery at 3DProgrammer.com> writes:
>
>> Alexander Schmolck wrote:
>>>
>>> Would you still have a problem with macros in python if utilizing
>>> them required some obvious and explicit mechanism (say a
>>> 'use_custom_syntax' statement right at the beginning of a module
>>> that wants to use macros), so that their use could easily be
>>> controlled by e.g. project managers?
>>
>> Yes you would.  In open source communities, you'd get different
>> philosophical camps, and people in one camp would embed
>> 'use_custom_syntax' in some *.h file (yeah yeah I'm a C++
>> programmer) that all the other *.h files use.
>
> In the proposed scheme every module that wants to use custom syntax
> has to say so, period. So there is no silent infestation (these
> syntaxes can't be stealthily exported).

I wsan't talking about stealth, I was talking about developmental inertia.
The least common denominator is functionality turned ON in some root *.h
file, and everyone else inherits the functionality.  Are you saying that
modules in Python don't inherit?

If you don't want the functionality to end up being "always ON" by faits
accompli, then you must ensure that functionality is irrevocably, "always
OFF."  In other words, don't provide the functionality.

> It would be
> easy (from a technical perspective) for project managers (open source
> or otherwise) to only allow certain, particularly trusted programers
> to create such modules or ban them outright.

>From a technical perspective.  From a productivity, political, or business
perspective, you are asking the moon.  People are going to do what works.
What works, is functionality turned ON at the least common denominator.
Nobody wants to chase the ON/OFF test issues.  Nobody's going to change code
that was designed monolithically ON to something compartmentalized ON/OFF.

> Just like you wouldn't allow every second rate programmer to write the
> system-critical libraries everything is built upon, you wouldn't
> allow just about anybody to create their own mini-languages without a
> need.

Man, this isn't very real world as far as how sprawling projects evolve!

-- 
Cheers,                         www.3DProgrammer.com
Brandon Van Every               Seattle, WA

20% of the world is real.
80% is gobbledygook we make up inside our own heads.





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