Newsgroups: alt.os.multics,alt.sys.pdp10,alt.folklore.computers,comp.lang.lisp
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!oitnews.harvard.edu!news.sesqui.net!uuneo.neosoft.com!bonkers.taronga.com!peter
From: peter@bonkers.taronga.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: Retro-Computing!
Organization: Taronga Park BBS
Message-ID: <D6E3AI.EJx@bonkers.taronga.com>
References: <D5yxwn.5BG@sdf.saomai.org> <3ledga$rcr@news2.delphi.com> <3005720917.911848@naggum.no> <vsocciD6DErH.ADz@netcom.com>
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 1995 04:03:54 GMT
Lines: 14

I think you're confusing two separate concepts: programming and user
interfaces. Programming languages will probably always be linear, no
matter what the user interface, and programs will always have some
kind of linear programming language interface (the traditional command
line, Hypercard, REXX and AREXX, Tcl, Visual Basic).

I've used a variety of systems that tried to remove the "programming
language" aspect of programming, and they all ended up by reducing
the expressiveness of the interface. GUIs and their descendants are
great for interactive use, for saying "take the green block and put
it in the orange box", but they're lousy for saying "if the object has
parallel sides and is stable and less than 4cm in each dimension and
is has a green component of the color more then 80% and the other color
components are less then 50% of the green component then..."
