Seeking old post on developers who like IDEs vs developers who like simple languages

[Joshua Judson Rosen]

Ulrich Eckhardt <eckhardt at satorlaser.com> writes:
> 
> That said, an IDE that provides auto-completion (e.g. that gives you a list
> of available class members) is a good thing in Java, because you don't have
> to browse the documentation as often.

While I find at least some types of autocompletion to be laudable
features, your rationale (if I'm reading it right)..., frankly,
frightens me.

You may find these interesting reading, if you haven't encountered
them previously:

    http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/userblogs/buck/blogView?showComments=true&entry=3296933922

    http://www.charlespetzold.com/etc/DoesVisualStudioRotTheMind.html

Steve may find them intersting, also--I don't think that either of
them is the particular post for which he's searching, but they both
are quite related to it.

Actually: thank you, Steve, for indirectly reminding me of
`Does Visual Studio Rot the Mind'--I'd forgotten all about it.

> With Python, that is impossible because there are no types bound to
> parameters, so any type that fits is allowed (duck typing).

That does not prevent a tool from showing you the argument-list;
untyped as it is, the number, sequence, and *names* of the arguments
*are* available. And it could be argued (especially with Python's duck
typing) that the parameters' *names* are (or at least *should be*) far
more illustrative of their purpose than their type-specifications
would be.

-- 
Don't be afraid to ask (Lf.((Lx.xx) (Lr.f(rr)))).