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Why would you want generics if you don't need them in practice?
by pcwalton 10y ago
Why would you want generics if you don't need them in practice?
- tedunangst 10y agoCome on. You don't know the difference between needs and wants?
- pcwalton 10y agoDiscussing what you "need" isn't remotely interesting in the context of programming languages. You don't need anything more than assembly language to get anything done.
- tedunangst 10y agoRedefining need as nice to have isn't interesting either. It should be possible for there to exist a set of features which are convenient if present, but the absence of which does not substantially impede the development of solutions.
- wolf550e 10y agoYou described a feature that good engineering practice says should be eliminated. Features have costs (the most significant of which IMO is learning an unfamiliar feature when you read other people's code), thus only features that allow better (less error prone, more maintainable, faster) implementation of applications should be included in any language.
- coldtea 10y agoIs the difference between "needs and wants" an engineering concept applicable to programming languages? We're not talking about wanting the new iPhone or a Tesla here, it's about wanting something that simplifies code / improves the expressiveness of a language.