Re: Free Form RPG Opinions Wanted

[Hans Boldt <boldt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Joe Pluta wrote:
> > From: Douglas Handy
> > Why should I have to consult a compile listing just to see what a
> > MOVE operation
> > is really doing?  Why *shouldn't* a move operation be easy to understand?
>
> Why shouldn't SQL be easy to understand?  Why shouldn't it be easy to set a
> timing chain on an '83 deuce and a quarter?  Why shouldn't it be easy to
> sculpt?  Why won't the State of Illinios let me perform brain surgery?
>
> Because they're hard things to do.  I'm not sure when the trend got to be
> that the most important thing was making programmers' lives easier.  ... 

Sure, computer programming in general is hard. And like sculpture 
and brain surgery, requires some level of inate talent. But what the 
heck is wrong with trying to make the task easier? Do you think that 
programming tools have to be hard just for the sake of being hard?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, consider the Python 
language. Of the programming languages in use today, it's probably 
the easiest to learn and use. That ease of use is one of the biggest 
reasons why some Pythonistas claim that the language offers a 10 
times productivity improvement over others. Thats 10 *times*, not 
just 10 percent. If I can write a fully functional HTTP server in 3 
lines of Python code, I tend to believe that claim. To clarify my 
point here, making programmers lives easier in Python's case 
translates into a (quantifiable) productivity gain.

(You could argue that much of Python's benefits arise from the rich 
class library. On the other hand, the language has allowed for a 
rich and easy to use class library without being overwhelming, like 
the class library of one other particular OO language.)

Now then, because Python is an interpreted language and RPG is a 
compiled language, RPG can never hope to match Python in usability. 
But still, what's wrong in trying to make the job of the RPG 
programmer easier?

Cheers! Hans