Re: Interesting article by Joel Spolsky: The Perils of JavaSchools


Gerry Quinn wrote:
> In article <1137105579.151067.150050@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> wookiz@xxxxxxxxxxx says...
>
> > If you ask in the real world...(by that I mean Joe Public whose
> > thinking has not been perverted by languages that are mere Von Neumann
> > Architecture abstractions) they will tell you that a language that
> > gives you
> >
> > a) 3 different ways of executing iteration in a manner that no sane
> > human would.
>
> But, as I showed, the toddler climbing up the stairs uses ordinary
> iteration.
>

You showed no such thing.

> > b) Tells you that y can equal y + 1
>
> y == z returns false when z = y + 1
>
> We use the word 'equals' for both; Joe Public will be well aware that
> context alters sense.

Joe Public will say "huh". It goes against what he was taught in
primary school.

> He may himself observe that one pugilist equals
> another in reach, and will not expect listeners to conclude that they
> must be clones.
>

He put it down to weird stuff that geeks do.

> > c) does not adhere to the common mathematical usage of variables
>
> We would have to ask Joe Public for his view on the common mathematical
> usage of variables, and why it should apply to their use in a language,
> before we could judge his opinions.
>

well lets expand that to general mathematical conventions.

What should be more natural to Joe Public. Something that works in
accordance with what he was taught in primary school or something that
doesn't.

> > is
> >
> > i) awkward
> > ii) exotic
> >
> > and if you told him/her that it was more popular he would think that
> > you and all the people who think like that were strange.
>
> All popular things seem strange to non-fans.
>
> - Gerry Quinn

.

Relevant Pages

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