Re: [stack] Thread, a vaguely related query language (and hello!)

>
> ...compactness is a primary measure of the power of a programming
> language.
>

A slightly different way of looking at this is that the more a program looks
like it's about what it's actually about, the better the interaction between
programmer and program will be, and ultimately this has a positive effect on
the quality of the produced software. Thus terseness isn't exactly an end in
itself, but a tactic for keeping the mechanics of the language out of the
way of the program and the programmer. Chris Glur's exhortation to put
LANGUAGE KEYWORDS IN ALL CAPS is pretty much the opposite approach, a kind
of shouty programming-language narcissism in which the programs are more
about the act of (trying to) program than they are about their nominal
subjects.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]