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Re: JWZ on s/Java/Perl/

From:
David Cantrell
Date:
January 29, 2001 09:29
Subject:
Re: JWZ on s/Java/Perl/
Message ID:
20010129171830.E26391@pigsty.barnyard.co.uk
On Mon, Jan 29, 2001 at 03:14:04PM -0200, Branden wrote:

> Well, if a compiler can't figure it out that the types of the
> variables "Object" and "int" are different and it should make 
> a conversion to assign one from the other, well, then the 
> compiler writers are damn bad programmers!

The compiler can - and does - figure it out.  It was a design decision
to make it barf instead of DWIM.  Whilst that may make the language itself
shit (even C will do some type conversions for you), it's not a reflection
on the compiler writers.  Except, of course, that they chose to implement
it instead of Doing The Right Thing themselves and finding different work.

> I agree completely. Java is a systems programming language, 
> i.e. it's a very low level language. (You may disagree with 
> me, but Java is just as low level as C, and, as far as UNIX 
> is concerned, it's much less portable, IMO.)

You must have a different definition of 'low-level' to what I have.

> But "C++ just makes everything harder and worse, so 
> I won't use it at all.", I actually agree, but not to
> the extents he goes about it. I actually didn't read 
> it, but I guess he means he prefers Java to C++. This
> point I disagree.

I have to agree with jwz.  I prefer Java to C++ - I prefer Java to C as
well.  If I want to get down and dirty with the machine, I'll use an
assembler.  I know it'll do what I tell it to do.  This may have more to
do with me having no formal CS education but plenty of 8-bit haXX0ring
than anything else :-)

-- 
David Cantrell | root@alphacomplex.org | http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david/

   Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced



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