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I think concatenative languages have great potential when paired with a proper type system and IDE. But you're absolutely right when it comes to plain text prog
by simplify 9y ago
I think concatenative languages have great potential when paired with a proper type system and IDE. But you're absolutely right when it comes to plain text programming; point-free style feels clever to write, but makes it more difficult to read.
- eru 9y agoIn Haskell there are some rules of thumb: if your new function is just a composition of existing function, point-free is fine. If you need 'flip' and friends, consider giving points a chance. There's a grey area in the middle that asks for judgement calls.
- Silhouette 9y agoif your new function is just a composition of existing function, point-free is fine. I'd probably extend that to things like straightforward partial application as well, but I strongly agree with your implied point that once some new function isn't a relatively simple derivation from some existing function(s), point-free style tends to become a liability. It's cute doing things with weird combinations of operators like (.) and ($), but it's also the Haskell version of writing C code full of one-character identifiers and obscure macros.