Re: Python and Flaming Thunder

Hallöchen!

Dave Parker writes:

[...]

Perhaps. Flaming Thunder is only $19.95 per year for an
individual (and even less per individual for site licenses), which
is less than the cost of just one book on Python.

First of all: Although I consider myself part of the Free Software
community, I have no problems at all with such a licence model.

But ...

[...]

Plus, me getting paid to work on Flaming Thunder is far more
motivating than me not getting paid to work on Python. This
weekend, Python users will still be debating how to fix
awkwardnesses in the languages (such as FOR loops where you're
just counting the loops and not referencing the loop variable) --
but Flaming Thunder users will be getting work done using the
REPEAT n TIMES constructs that I'll be implementing.

Well, this is besides the point in my opinion. First, what you
consider a wart may be loved by someone else. I for example would
consider a "REPEAT n TIMES" feature as Ruby offers it (and soon FT
apparently) ugly because it is superfluous.

And secondly, *every* language has their warts. So many languages
start as clean babies because they offer little and focus on a
specific domain. But grown up, they include the same dirty tricks
and suprising corners as the big languages.

For me being a physicist and a hobby programmer, FT still is a toy
language. Cute but titchy. It surely has its applications, but if
you produce pocket calculators, don't tell a computer manufacturer
that your machines are much simpler to use. Instead, both things
simply have their purposes.

Python has been around about 15 years, yet still has those
awkwardnesses. Flaming Thunder has been out less than 6 months
and those awkwardnesses are already getting fixed. The
difference: I can't afford to ignore users.

Really, the Python developers listen *very* carefully what the users
want. Of course, the response time in Python is months rather than
days, which has turned out to be a good thing more than once.

Tschö,
Torsten.

--
Torsten Bronger, aquisgrana, europa vetus
Jabber ID: bronger@xxxxxxxxxx
(See http://ime.webhop.org for further contact info.)
.

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