Mark J. Reed wrote:
> CB = Chris Bates
> KG = Keith Gaughan
> KG> I disagree with your comparison. You can't compare C and C++ to the
> KG> likes of Perl, Java and C++.
>
> You can't compare C++ to C++? Is that kind of like how nil is not equal
> to nil? :)
D'oh! Mistyped! Meant to type C#, of course.
> KG> They're aimed at different problem domains
<snipped because I agree with all this, just didn't bring it out>
> In that way,
> despite their refined status as "real" programming languages with computer
> science credentials, they have a lot in common with lowly "scripting"
> tools like JavaScript and Flash ActionScript.
Hey! JS ain't all that lowly! It's essentially a Lisp in C clothing.
It's just misunderstood. ;-)
> KG> But O'Caml is still the more powerful language. Why? Because you have to
> KG> worry about fewer things in O'Caml than you do in in C, types and memory
> KG> being examples. This is the best measure of power.
>
> I disagree here. I have yet to encounter a valid claim about
> "not having to worry about" various aspects of software development.
> In Java, you still have to worry about memory.
But what I mean is that while you might have to worry about memory, you
don't have to worry about what happens to it once you're finished with
it. Garbage collection takes care of that.
> In "typeless"
> languages, you often find yourself working around the lack of types (of
> course, in strongly typed languages you often find yourself working
> around the need for a more generic interface to something).
O'Caml uses type inference, so you have strong typing, but you don't
have to worry about your variable types all the time because the
compiler can figure it out.
But I'm not just talking about things like that. I'm talking about
first-class functions, closures, and the like too.
> Everything in programming design is a trade-off. I like some things about
> O'Caml, and dislike others.
Same goes for any language, which is one of the reasons there's so
many...
K.
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