Newsgroups: comp.object,comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.clos
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!oitnews.harvard.edu!newsfeed.rice.edu!uw-beaver!pattis
From: pattis@cs.washington.edu (Richard Pattis)
Subject: To be [fun], or not to be [fun]
Message-ID: <D9yvtr.n2F@beaver.cs.washington.edu>
Summary: Ada95 was designed to be fun too
Sender: news@beaver.cs.washington.edu (System PRIVILEGED Account)
Organization: Computer Science & Engineering, U. of Washington, Seattle
References: <19950602T072121Z@naggum.no> <3qtf1m$7qb@news.wwa.com> <3r5dfl$sto@mippet.ci.com.au>
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 17:12:41 GMT
Lines: 29
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.object:32612 comp.lang.c++:132782 comp.lang.ada:31151 comp.lang.clos:3205

>: By the way, the stated purpose of C++ is: "C++ is a general purpose
>: programming language designed to make programming more enjoyable
>: for the serious programmer", "The C++ Programming Language",
>: Bjarne Stroustrup, 1986.
>
>I have great respect for Bjarne, but again I believe that this is not an
>appropriate design goal. Maintainability should be top of the list, every
>time. Reading and rewriting are the tasks that are far too often not 
>addressed in language design. This is where I personally believe that Ada
>has its advantage.
>

Please read S. Tucker Taft's guest editorial in  JOOP (June 95, pages 6-8). In
it he says,

  "In addition to all these serious-sounding, high minded philosophical
   principles, there was an overrriding goal of making the language flexible,
   powerful and fun to use"

So, if designing a language to be fun to use is a pox, it is a pox on both the
c++ and Ada houses. Let's move on from this discussion.



-- 
  Richard E. Pattis                  "When debugging, a novice programmer
  Looking for a Job		      inserts corrective code; an
			              experienced programmer removes
			              defective code." 
