Newsgroups: comp.lang.scheme,comp.lang.scheme.scsh,comp.lang.lisp,comp.lang.tcl,comp.lang.functional,comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.perl.misc,comp.lang.python,comp.lang.eiffel
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!nntp.club.cc.cmu.edu!goldenapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news.dfci.harvard.edu!camelot.ccs.neu.edu!news.mathworks.com!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!ais.net!ix.netcom.com!hbaker
From: hbaker@netcom.com (Henry Baker)
Subject: Re: Reply to Ousterhout's reply (was Re: Ousterhout and Tcl ...)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Message-ID: <hbaker-0904970755100001@10.0.2.1>
Sender: hbaker@netcom21.netcom.com
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Organization: nil
X-Newsreader: Yet Another NewsWatcher 2.2.0
References: <rcybba5k9c.fsf@redwood.skiles.gatech.edu> <s6y208um0ey.fsf_-_@aalh02.alcatel.com.au> <334412fb.7359993@news.demon.co.uk> <5i7euq$cmg@engnews2.Eng.Sun.COM> <5iafs1$fh4@roar.cs.utexas.edu> <334A650F.4D63@4mate.hr> <334B68EC.3F66@maths.anu.edu.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 1997 15:55:10 GMT
Lines: 15
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.scheme:19423 comp.lang.scheme.scsh:540 comp.lang.lisp:26538 comp.lang.tcl:66074 comp.lang.functional:8725 comp.lang.c++:259657 comp.lang.perl.misc:73196 comp.lang.python:20707 comp.lang.eiffel:19444

In article <334B68EC.3F66@maths.anu.edu.au>, Graham Matthews
<graham.matthews@maths.anu.edu.au> wrote:

> There is a much simpler reason why all these ugly languages about -- its
> called intertia. There was a lot of code written in the 70s in ugly
> languages -- written before we knew how to make good languages. All that
> code has to be supported, interfaced to, etc, so all the ugly languges
> it is written in are now the standard. Simple.

There are far more ugly programs than ugly languages.  Using a 'good'
language does not guarantee pretty programs.  In fact, since a 'good'
language has immense power, it is possible to write uglier
programs in a 'good' language, than it is to write ugly programs in
a 'bad' language.  This, of course, is one of the justifications I've
seen for forcing people to write in 'bad' languages !!
