Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 14th Jan 2013 23:15 UTC, submitted by MOS6510
"Programming languages are living phenomena: They're born, the lucky ones that don't die in infancy live sometimes long, fruitful lives, and then inevitably enter a period of decline. Unlike real life, the decline can last many, many years as the presence of large legacy codebases means practiced hands must tend the code for decades. The more popular the language once was, the longer this period of decline will be."
Thread beginning with comment 548921
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE[4]: Comment by RareBreed
by ndrw on Tue 15th Jan 2013 22:20
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by RareBreed"
Member since:2009-06-30
RE[5]: Comment by RareBreed
by satsujinka on Wed 16th Jan 2013 06:02
in reply to "RE[4]: Comment by RareBreed"
Member since:2010-03-11
If you'd like to be helpful, please point me to someone who prefers weak typing to strong typing. Then put that in context of everyone who prefers the reverse.
Please note that this is not a comment on the preference for dynamic or not. A dynamic language can still be weakly or strongly typed underneath (Python for instance is a strongly typed dynamic language.)
"We" in this case is in reference to the general populace of programmers.
RE[4]: Comment by RareBreed
by Delgarde on Tue 15th Jan 2013 22:39
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by RareBreed"
Member since:2008-08-19
It's true, pure functional is only a marginal improvement over impure functional. It's sort of like the distinction between weak and strong typing. But just as we prefer strong typing for the guarantees it gives us we should prefer pure functional to impure.
Disagree, pure functional is a serious step backward compared to a language that allow you to mix functional with procedural or OO techniques. Seriously, why should I prefer pure-functional when all that gives me is reduced flexibility?
RE[5]: Comment by RareBreed
by ndrw on Tue 15th Jan 2013 23:23
in reply to "RE[4]: Comment by RareBreed"
Member since:2009-06-30
RE[5]: Comment by RareBreed
by satsujinka on Wed 16th Jan 2013 06:06
in reply to "RE[4]: Comment by RareBreed"
Member since:2010-03-11
Exactly because it reduces flexibility. That's why I compared it to weak/strong typing.
Both strong typing and "pure functional" provide additional guarantees about the content of some object (values/variables and functions respectively.) In the case of pure functions, the guarantee is that they will always be referentially transparent and have no side effects. It's simply impossible to construct something which isn't. This is a valuable guarantee, at least for a compiler, due to the optimizations such a function allows.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/15/13 22:44 UTC
Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about why OSNews was no longer OSNews: the alternative operating system scene had died, and OSNews, too, had to go with the times and move towards reporting on a new wave of operating systems - mobile, and all the repercussions that the explosion of smartphones and tablets have caused. Still, I was wondering something today: why aren't we seeing alternative operating systems on mobile?More Features »
Sponsored Links
Member since:
2010-03-11
Agreed. Over the years, I've found very little value in OO languages - but I find a *lot* of value in having objects in more traditional procedural or functional languages. "
Fixed that for ya
Serious now.
It's true, pure functional is only a marginal improvement over impure functional. It's sort of like the distinction between weak and strong typing. But just as we prefer strong typing for the guarantees it gives us we should prefer pure functional to impure.