4 ms·

Let me say this... there's a reason why ALGOL 68 is no longer used very much. At the time it was criticized for being horrendously complex, and there is some t

by j_baker 17y ago

Let me say this... there's a reason why ALGOL 68 is no longer used very much. At the time it was criticized for being horrendously complex, and there is some truth to this. Notice that the email points out all the different things you can do with ALGOL 68 compared to Go. If we were to compare all programming languages this way, wouldn't C++ be the best language ever?

bad_user 17y ago
No, C++ lacks many things ... that's why I personally hate it ... the cost you pay for the feature creep is not worth it. A good language is not a revolutionary one, indeed, but it's kind of depressing that the state of the art is the same as 30-40 years ago, and it sometimes seems that language-designers haven't learned anything. There's nothing I hate more about a programming language than exceptions to rules. And Go has plenty of those. I understand the pragmatism, but if some people are unhappy with C++ or Java, why make the same mistakes when designing a new one?
- j_baker 17y ago
  "A good language is not a revolutionary one, indeed, but it's kind of depressing that the state of the art is the same as 30-40 years ago, and it sometimes seems that language-designers haven't learned anything." I think it's just a sign that computer science is a maturing field. After all, I don't hear civil engineers complaining that the fundamental concepts of building a bridge haven't changed much in the last ~2000 years.
  - bad_user 17y ago
    From my POV, it's a sign that we are becoming more shallow.
  - kraemate 17y ago
    Yeah, i dont hear people blaming civil engineers because all the bridges that they build collapse spontaneously or which need to be replaced every 6 months or which work only with 5 wheel cars. 'Computer Science' is going backwards fast, and we all know it.
    - ramchip 17y ago
      Backwards? Come on. Write a Parsec-based parser, build a GUI with Qt, make a web app with Rails or Clojure or whatever you like - then compare your experience to what it would have been 10 or 20 years ago.
NevilleDNZ 17y ago
re: Algol68 - try http://sourceforge.net/projects/algol68/files http://sourceforge.net/projects/algol68/files The Algol68G interpreter has installers for for Windows, Fedora, Centos, RHEL, Ubuntu and Debian. And the source tarball will compile on Solaris, BSD and OSX etc. Site also has stashed within the British DRA's (Defence Research Agency's) Algol68R compiler retooled to generate C. [as algol68toc] (DRA's compiler is actually written in Algol68!!) Sample Algol68 source code can be found at http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Category:ALGOL_68 http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Category:ALGOL_68 enjoy - N

by j_baker 17y ago

bad_user 17y ago

No, C++ lacks many things ... that's why I personally hate it ... the cost you pay for the feature creep is not worth it. A good language is not a revolutionary one, indeed, but it's kind of depressing that the state of the art is the same as 30-40 years ago, and it sometimes seems that language-designers haven't learned anything. There's nothing I hate more about a programming language than exceptions to rules. And Go has plenty of those. I understand the pragmatism, but if some people are unhappy with C++ or Java, why make the same mistakes when designing a new one?

j_baker 17y ago
"A good language is not a revolutionary one, indeed, but it's kind of depressing that the state of the art is the same as 30-40 years ago, and it sometimes seems that language-designers haven't learned anything." I think it's just a sign that computer science is a maturing field. After all, I don't hear civil engineers complaining that the fundamental concepts of building a bridge haven't changed much in the last ~2000 years.
- bad_user 17y ago
  From my POV, it's a sign that we are becoming more shallow.
- kraemate 17y ago
  Yeah, i dont hear people blaming civil engineers because all the bridges that they build collapse spontaneously or which need to be replaced every 6 months or which work only with 5 wheel cars. 'Computer Science' is going backwards fast, and we all know it.
  - ramchip 17y ago
    Backwards? Come on. Write a Parsec-based parser, build a GUI with Qt, make a web app with Rails or Clojure or whatever you like - then compare your experience to what it would have been 10 or 20 years ago.

NevilleDNZ 17y ago

re: Algol68 - try http://sourceforge.net/projects/algol68/files http://sourceforge.net/projects/algol68/files The Algol68G interpreter has installers for for Windows, Fedora, Centos, RHEL, Ubuntu and Debian. And the source tarball will compile on Solaris, BSD and OSX etc. Site also has stashed within the British DRA's (Defence Research Agency's) Algol68R compiler retooled to generate C. [as algol68toc] (DRA's compiler is actually written in Algol68!!) Sample Algol68 source code can be found at http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Category:ALGOL_68 http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Category:ALGOL_68 enjoy - N