From: Tobias Weber <towb@...>
Date: 2008-05-27T22:29:18+09:00
Subject: Re: [ADV] Pushed a new beta of PickAxe 3

In article <fsm778$b0n$1@aioe.org>, Bil Kleb <Bil.Kleb@NASA.gov> wrote:

> > more classes and something like 200 new methods.
> 
> Makes me wonder if Matz et al have reviewed Guy Steel's "Growing a Language"
> 1998 OOPSLA talk lately:

> P.S. Thanks to Marick for the link -- I'd only previously heard legend
> of this talk.

Thank you! I had never.

The first language I fell in love with was designed by a linguist (named 
Wall) and, in addition to making user-defined words look like built-in 
words, he gave it a lot of grammar. Even after the additions Steel 
recommended Java still has very little grammar. Which is why I never 
liked it.

In Ruby you could always make things look like they were built-in, *and* 
it had a lot of grammar, like if modifiers or the asterisk for list 
assignement. I like that better than a big choice of methods.

-- 
  Tobias Weber