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Re: The subsetting has begun

• To: "Thomas B. Passin" <tpassin@c...>,xml-dev@l...
• Subject: Re: The subsetting has begun
• From: "Alaric B. Snell" <alaric@a...>
• Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:18:37 +0000
• In-reply-to: <006601c2dbba$a0d0be70$6401a8c0@tbp1>
• References: <E18mPk8-0004nL-00@m...> <000f01c2db9c$b8b22920$0207a8c0@karl> <006601c2dbba$a0d0be70$6401a8c0@tbp1>

On Monday 24 February 2003 04:10, Thomas B. Passin wrote:
> [Karl Waclawek]
>
> > Now I am getting even more dissatisfied. In addition to genericity
> > I also want continuations in Delphi/Java/C#/C++. (it's probably possible
> > in C++, but I am no expert in it). ;-)
>
> "Stackless Python" has continuations, and the latest versions of standard
> Python have generators, which are said to give you most of the capabilities
> of continuations without having to do major surgery to the language guts.
> Uche Ogbuji posted some info (on the PyXML list, I think it was) where
> using a Python generator was dramatically faster than doing the same thing
> in a more conventional way (this was a kind of tree walking in a recursive
> manner, as I recall).

Oh sweet! I think I seriously need to play with Stackless Python. NOW.

It's often the case that 'wierd programming language features' have a 
lifecycle:

1) It's all written in terms of Greek letters and lives in CS labs and looks 
confusing.

2) CS students say "Sigh... I wish C++ had the Omega combinator, so I could 
code iterative algorithms in terms of their fixed points..."

3) Hardcore C++ developers say "Don't be silly! It would be infinitely slow 
and confusing and horrible, all just for easier programming. Pah! I spurn 
your air-headed academic silliness!"

4) War rages

5) CS students graduate and are emplyed by $bigcorp to design a new 
programming language. They stick in a slightly emasculated for efficiency and 
ease of development/understanding version of their prized language feature, 
and go to great lengths to make it easy to use and invisible to the 
programmer and so on.

6) Everyone loves it. It gets good press, and appears in marketing brochures. 
"With it's fixpoint construct, C* makes loop development easier and blah 
blah..."

7) Much money is poured into research to make it faster, easier, better, etc.

8) It becomes mainstream and everyone is saying "How did we live without it?"

Anyone who has been in the least bit tittilated by all this talk really ought 
to read:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0262011530

...except in soft cover, since then it won't cost $70.

>
> Tom P
>

ABS

-- 
A city is like a large, complex, rabbit
 - ARP

• References:
  • Re: The subsetting has begun
    • From: John Cowan <cowan@m...>
  • Re: The subsetting has begun
    • From: "Karl Waclawek" <karl@w...>
  • Re: The subsetting has begun
    • From: "Thomas B. Passin" <tpassin@c...>

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