Objet : [OT] Software Carpentry

[Alex Tweedly]

Pierre Sahores wrote:

> Hello All,
>
>> Major advances in programming come when languages start offering  
>> support for things the best programmers are doing anyway
>> For loops and if/then/else formalized what good Fortran programmers  
>> were already doing
>> Objects formalized the way good C, Pascal, and Lisp programmers  
>> managed their data structures and functions
>> Java deserves credit for bringing two previously-esoteric practices  
>> into the mainstream
>> Garbage collection: the computer recycles memory as it needs to
>> Reflection: programs can inspect themselves at runtime
>> Reflection simplifies the construction of large software systems
>> Most big applications are now frameworks that load plug-in  
>> components dynamically
>> A little extra effort…
>> …but it forces programmers to really, truly modularize their code…
>> …which also reduces maintenance and customization costs
>> Watching programs run is an essential part of the software  
>> development process
>> Which parts of my code can be thrown away?
>> Which parts am I actually testing?
>> Which parts of their work are my colleagues actually testing?
>> Why is my program so slow?
>> Modern computer systems are so complex that it's practically  
>> impossible to figure this out from first principles
>> So write the code, profile, and then start tuning
>
>
> Very elegant analysis, isn't it..., execept one detail, unfortunally,  
> bad knowed by the author : SmallTalk and Hypercard have to get the  
> credits he is giving to Java. 

I don't agree. He didn't say Java invented those features, he said that 
Java gets credit "for bringing them to the mainstream". I think it's 
quite reasonable to say that Smalltalk and Hypercard were outside the 
mainstream.

And if it was about when the features were invented, LISP predates 
either Smalltalk and Hypercard.

-- 
Alex Tweedly       http://www.tweedly.net



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