RE: back to: improving rpg. was: what is object oriented programming

[Hans <boldt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Joe Pluta wrote:
> ...
> One more time: information hiding is an OO concept.  Period.  I didn't say
> it.  The guys who invented this stuff did.  Read their works.

Joe: The interesting thing about this debate is that now you're the one 
arguing the side of "ivory tower" academia! (I believe you've accused me of 
that in the past.) When implementing some software system, the last thing 
most programmers are concerned about is the academic definition of things 
like polymorphism and inheritance and encapsulation. These things are 
*descriptive* of the object-oriented design, not an intrinsic part of it.

Perhaps that's the problem - I'm fundamentally a "descriptivist", and 
perhaps you're a "prescriptivist". As an analogy with human languages, one 
considers a dictionary a description of a language, the other considers it 
a guide to proper usage. And ultimately, although each approaches a subject 
from the opposite angle, each is right in their own way.

And I think the same difference applies to programming languages. Languages 
with strong compile-time type checking (like C++ and Java) are more 
prescriptive in that they try to force a "proper" programming style. But 
the interpretive languages (like O-REXX, Perl, and Python) try to match a 
more "liberal" style of development, a style more in tune with how 
programmers approach the task of programming. 

Anyways, just to be clear, that's how I see things. And I'm sure you'll find 
a way to dispute it. (I'd like to say more, but the baby is fussing - I 
think it might be time for her bath.)

Cheers! Hans