5 ms·

Excel truly masters being the full triangle. A simple list at first, a multi-linear optimizer later. So does Ruby. puts "hello world" # and later homi

Excel truly masters being the full triangle. A simple list at first, a multi-linear optimizer later. So does Ruby. puts "hello world" # and later homing_missile.target_pos = some_monster.public_method(:pos)

ugh 15y ago
I will have to disagree with your assessment of Excel. It’s a great tool, especially for those who live in it, and it covers a large area of the triangle but the start is very rocky. Using it for simple lists of numbers – maybe even with a bit of arithmetic – is indeed easy to pick up. I have, however, seen a lot of casual users of Excel struggle with getting their finished lists look a certain way and with printing them out. I think there is potential for optimization in that area. Still, apps that cover the whole triangle will probably always be somewhat intimidating for beginners. I, for example, like InDesign (Adobe’s layout tool) a lot but it is completely inaccessible to beginners. You basically need to read up on it before you can even start putting the first word on a page, even if you are, say, versed in using word processing software. I think that’s perfectly alright, InDesign is an incredibly powerful tool that doesn’t need to be accessible to beginners.
- hammock 15y ago
  Yeah excel seems easy when you've been using it since age 3. But I work with hundreds of creative-types - artists, designers, writers, etc - who couldn't figure out what to do with an excel beyond opening it and reading it like a document.
- LearnYouALisp 15y ago
  I couldn't believe MS was portrayed as "professional" in the sense of preparing books and typesetting documents.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
Wilduck 15y ago
I think many programming languages fall into another category not mentioned in the article, a category where they serve both the beginner and the expert, but not the intermediate user. That is, they're fairly easy to pick up for a beginner, as there are tons of "hello world" tutorials and with all of the libraries and frameworks available can be used to make large production applications but moving from one to the other requires incredible amounts of work. That being said, I don't think many of the typical user interface guidelines apply to programming languages anyway, so the point is probably moot.
- LearnYouALisp 15y ago
  The number of tutorials has to do with the popularity of a language and the general level of competence. The author is talking about a user interface, not how-to books, so it's hard to apply the principle to programming. (How a PL implementation is documented is a a little similar but not the same.)

ugh 15y ago

I will have to disagree with your assessment of Excel. It’s a great tool, especially for those who live in it, and it covers a large area of the triangle but the start is very rocky. Using it for simple lists of numbers – maybe even with a bit of arithmetic – is indeed easy to pick up. I have, however, seen a lot of casual users of Excel struggle with getting their finished lists look a certain way and with printing them out. I think there is potential for optimization in that area. Still, apps that cover the whole triangle will probably always be somewhat intimidating for beginners. I, for example, like InDesign (Adobe’s layout tool) a lot but it is completely inaccessible to beginners. You basically need to read up on it before you can even start putting the first word on a page, even if you are, say, versed in using word processing software. I think that’s perfectly alright, InDesign is an incredibly powerful tool that doesn’t need to be accessible to beginners.

hammock 15y ago
Yeah excel seems easy when you've been using it since age 3. But I work with hundreds of creative-types - artists, designers, writers, etc - who couldn't figure out what to do with an excel beyond opening it and reading it like a document.
LearnYouALisp 15y ago
I couldn't believe MS was portrayed as "professional" in the sense of preparing books and typesetting documents.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]

Wilduck 15y ago

I think many programming languages fall into another category not mentioned in the article, a category where they serve both the beginner and the expert, but not the intermediate user. That is, they're fairly easy to pick up for a beginner, as there are tons of "hello world" tutorials and with all of the libraries and frameworks available can be used to make large production applications but moving from one to the other requires incredible amounts of work. That being said, I don't think many of the typical user interface guidelines apply to programming languages anyway, so the point is probably moot.

LearnYouALisp 15y ago
The number of tutorials has to do with the popularity of a language and the general level of competence. The author is talking about a user interface, not how-to books, so it's hard to apply the principle to programming. (How a PL implementation is documented is a a little similar but not the same.)