property syntax strawman

[Walter Bright]

Jarrett Billingsley wrote:
> What about my other points?  Do you have a response?

I talked with Derek about the same issue. He pointed out cases where the 
principles conflicted with the actual design. I replied that in real 
engineering work, *everything* is a compromise between multiple 
competing principles.

For example, auto company executives will say that "safety is our top 
priority." Of course it isn't, as such a principle will produce unusable 
cars that cannot move an inch.

The art of engineering, and it is an art, is to balance the competing 
principles and find the best compromise.

It's not a binary thing - violating principle A over here is in no way 
saying A is worthless, and is not a justification for violating it over 
there.


> I almost had
> trouble believing this proposal wasn't a joke, given how contrived and
> unintuitive it is.  Shouldn't that be an important consideration?

Of course it is important. It is far from the only consideration, though.

Someone changing their mind about something after extensive debate is a 
good indication they are engaging in an honest and productive discussion.