From: Sean Russell <ser@...>
Date: 2002-01-03T09:46:49+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:30090] Re: Ruby/Python: Software Engineering

noone wrote:

>   Designed from the "ground up" for readability
> 
>     Enforced indention (you indent your own code I bet)

The day Ruby adopts this is the day I go looking for another programming 
language.

>     { @No #line $noise }
>     No short cuts ($!, $%, etc)

Shorthand.  Hmm.  Touchy subject.  In general, I'm for shorthand.  Yes it 
makes things more difficult to read, but many times when I use Ruby, I'm 
not writing programs, but scripts, and the shorthand is helpful for one-off 
command line scriptlets.  Ruby's shortcuts are one reason why I chose it 
over Python.

Basically, I avoid languages that try too hard to force me to do things 
their way, for the same reason I avoid Macintoshes.  I haven't yet met 
computer, or a language, that is smarter than I am.

> Ruby addresses them. Are these simply topics of opinion, or do they
> actually matter?

Yes, these are opinions, albeit informed opinions.  Your question 
implies that opinions don't matter, when, in fact, they matter very much.  
Programming is still as much art as science.

If you look back through the history of programming, I think you'll find 
that opinions about programming style come in and go out of fashion.  
"Goto" is a good example.  Ulitmately, all syntax derives from matters of 
opinion.  The best we can hope for is overall progress.

--- SER


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