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From: aaron@funcity.njit.edu (Aaron Watters)
Subject: Re: GNU Extension Language Plans
Message-ID: <1994Oct25.193305.9225@njitgw.njit.edu>
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Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology
References: <22Oct1994.212632.Alan@LCS.MIT.EDU> <1994Oct24.154723.17017@njitgw.njit.edu> <38jdk4INN76a@ford.is.wdi.disney.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 19:33:05 GMT
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I had to respond to this one.  sorry. (I need a 12 step program on this.)

In article <38jdk4INN76a@ford.is.wdi.disney.com> thant@disney.com (Thant Tessman) writes:
>The problem is not that these beautiful concepts aren't practical,
>it's that practical implementations of these beautiful concepts are
>relatively rare.
>...I am constantly trying to
>simulate the kind of functionality available in higher-level languages
>in the pain-in-the-ass language of C++ (in the name of compatibility).

Don't get me started on C++.

>Even the existence of C++ itself is testimony to fact that
>higher-level abstractions are useful in `real-world' programming.
>It's also testimony to how reluctant people are to give up what they
>know in persuit of these higher-level abstractions.

Actually, C++ is mostly syntactic sugar on C.  It's not all that
high level -- it aims close to the right height, but misses the barn.

>(None of this is to deny that there is esoteric, impractical, or just
>plain bad research and development going on in academia.  After all, a
>university's purpose is to teach people (I assume).  

Tell that to the tenure committee.  And there is no such thing as bad
research, especially by a well known or powerful person (first rule of
academia: never criticize anyone to their face).

>And one great way
>to learn things is to make mistakes.)

If anyone ever realized they'd made a mistake this might be true.
Academics too often take Stalin's approach: if something doesn't
work DO IT HARDER (and make sure all your grad students and the
junior faculty are doing it too).  Popper once said that paradigms
change when the old guys retire, and in academia at least I think
this is true.		-a.
