DIP23 draft: Fixing properties redux

[Andrei Alexandrescu]

On 2/5/13 7:15 PM, Zach the Mystic wrote:
> Okay. But I just want to be clear that you are saying what I am reading,
> which is that I came to this language too late to really make a
> difference in it.

Depends on how you look at it.

Among languages of any note, I suspect D is one of the more open to 
language design discussions. Also, there is plenty of fun to be had with 
library enhancements, proving properties of language constructs, 
tightening the screws all around, writing articles, tutorials, and 
documentation, and more. We're just at the beginning of a vast expansion.

If by making a difference you mean strictly adding a language feature to 
D, you're not late even for that but you have to come up with something 
pretty darn interesting. Your proposal is not that; it does hold water, 
it is likely implementable, and it is possibly useful (though I have 
some doubts about the latter). It's just not compelling enough to make 
the A list, and we can't afford anything but the A+ list.

Note that most people tend to vastly overestimate their few first 
language designs, and that there are much more people who think are good 
at language design than those actually are. (Note I'm only passing 
opinion on what I saw; You may as well be an awesome language designer, 
but the spark is not visible in this particular proposal.) Though I've 
had an idea or two that stuck, I confess without any false modesty that 
I don't consider myself to be a noted language designer.


Andrei