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From: frankt@cwi.nl (Frank Teusink)
Subject: Re: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Wicked ...
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Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 10:03:40 GMT
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mbk@caffeine.engr.utk.edu (Matt Kennel) writes:

[about language a matter of taste]

>I'm distirbed by the notion that the "human" reasons are considered
>aesthetic and unquantifiable.  They are not quantified or rationalized now
>because there is little scientific progress in this area, but there
>should be.

True. But progress wouldn't mean that there would be more agreement on
what is the `best' language. People have different tastes, developed out
of different backgrounds. And you can discuss a lot about taste, but you
can't say which one is best.

I learned Python a while ago. In Python, you don't have begin and end
block statements like `begin' and `end' in Pascal or `{' and `}' in
C, C++, and Java. Instead, block's are defined by indentation. I find it
aestetically very appealing. Most C(++) programmers probably hate it
(of course only until they *learn* to appreciate it (c: ). No matter of
right or wrong. Just taste.

Frank

P.S. I must say I don't find Java a very apealing language. Still I 
     program in it.
-- 
Frank Teusink          CWI
email: frankt@cwi.nl   P.O.Box 94079
tel: +31 20 592 4075   1090 GB  Amsterdam
fax  +31 20 592 4199   The Netherlands
