[Fwd: Re: [go-nuts] Re: Generics false dichotomy]

[Russel Winder]

On Thu, 2014-02-20 at 19:32 +0000, Craig Dillabaugh wrote:
[…]
> I once worked on a project where we used Fortran to develop a GUI
> app
> (without the help of any sort of GUI toolkit) for image
> processing.
> I remember struggling to find ways to make it re-use code, but the
> general means of code reuse was copy-paste.  I replaced part of
> the
> tool with a QT based (C++) tool, that had MUCH better
> functionality with
> a fraction of the code, but the project leader had no interest in
> that
> because he only knew Fortran (he was a scientist, not a
> programmer, so
> I can see why he didn't want to change his baby to C++ though).

:-) or perhaps :-(

The HEP community have been trying to switch to C++ from Fortran for the
last 20 years with some success. However they continue to use some
libraries written in Fortran 4 (well actually Fortran G).

> Anyway, my point is: the fact that we found a way to do it doesn't
> necessarily mean that it was a good idea.

I agree completely. But I also say that you have to try, just in case
you find something new that turns out to be something good and useful.
On the other hand there is a point at which you have to review and
potentially admit the whole enterprise was a waste of time.

I think the Go experiment has not reached a decision stage as yet.

Go routines are superb. Reliance on return codes and no exceptions is
less so. compile time strongly typed duck typing is still an experiment
awaiting a result.

> How good these Go solutions to polymorphism are, I cannot comment
> on as
> I don't know Go, but hopefully their 'ways' are more elegant than
> our way of writing a GUI app in old-school Fortran.

Different, possibly somewhat more elegant. I don't think we have enough
evidence as yet to really come to a conclusion.

The problem here is all the hidden variables. This is not a properly
structure experiment where variables are under strong control. There are
infact too many variables to analyse the whole thing easily, and then
there is all the emotion and prejudice to filter out.

For me the jury doesn't yet have the evidence to be out. Well on
Go/D/Python anyway.


-- 
Russel.
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