Re: Example of expression bias?

From: Marshall <marshall.spight_at_gmail.com>
Date: 20 Jun 2006 18:52:33 -0700
Message-ID: <1150854753.159367.90510_at_p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com>


paul c wrote:
>
> just trying to read Backus' ACM speech/paper and notice he uses the word
> "objects' to try to get his FP stuff off the ground. i think i've seen
> it used lots of times as a place-holder to make another point. not sure
> why it's a bad sign, unless you mean wrt mainstream rt.

Not sure which paper you mean. Backus won the Turing award in 1977, and the associated paper is "Can Programming Be Freed from the Von Neuman Style." An interesting paper but not one I find very compelling. I like the emphasis on functional style, but dislike the effort he goes through to get rid of names; I don't think that's a good choice. The APL family shows what comes of this approach; I don't think it produces programs that are very readable or maintainable.

Also, 1977 was before the term "object" came to be dominated by OOP meaning. The word itself is fairily generic, like "entity" or even "thing."

These days I often find myself wanting a word like that and almost saying "object" but catching myself because I don't want to invoke OOP. I sometimes substitute "construct" which is nicely free of connotations.

> sticking my
> neck out here, don't want to get plonked or infamy'ed like c'mode.

My crank-o-meter is currently registering 0% for "paul c". You seem to be worried so I thought I'd mention it. I can't say what anyone else thinks, though.

Marshall Received on Wed Jun 21 2006 - 03:52:33 CEST

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