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- Path: node238.fc.net!goochb
- From: goochb@rwi.com (William D. Gooch)
- Newsgroups: comp.lang.java,comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.smalltalk
- Subject: Languages and complexity (was Re: Will Java kill C++?)
- Date: Fri, 12 Apr 1996 09:42:13
- Organization: RothWell International
- Message-ID: <goochb.330.0009B46C@rwi.com>
- References: <31682FFE.2781E494@bbn.com> <DpJyGG.FKK@hkuxb.hku.hk> <denatale-1004960822260001@grail1506.nando.net> <dbell-1104960125190001@wholder2.cts.com> <goochb.327.000893D1@rwi.com> <dbell-1104961159050001@wholder2.cts.com>
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- In article <dbell-1104961159050001@wholder2.cts.com> dbell@shvn.com (Doug Bell) writes:
-
- > And in environments
- >where a large product is being produced for relatively few users, such as
- >American Express' internal card purchase authorization system, the
- >economics of the situation support the extra computing resources often
- >required by a highly generalized language if it reduces the cost to
- >implement. To what extent a generalized language or a 4GL language
- >reduces the cost of implementation is debatable, but certainly a case can
- >be made for this.
-
- It is sometimes (granted, rarely) not simply a question of reducing
- implementation cost or time-to-market, but getting there at all.
- There are real complexity barriers which can be very difficult to
- break through with conventional tools. These barriers don't go
- away once a product is released, but carry over into maintenance
- and enhancement also.
-
- Not quite sure how 4GL crept in there. To me, 4GL is a long way
- from being in the same category with languages like Lisp or Smalltalk.
-
- >Let's just say that to some extent, the answers a language *does* have
- >must be relative to the impact of the software which results from it.
- >What other measure would you apply?
-
- Define "impact." A single application, for example the Amex system,
- can have a tremendous impact without being very apparent to the
- average person. In a very real sense, it is one of the most widely
- used applications in existence. But if you define "impact" as "sales
- in a general-use market," then I disagree.
-
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- William D. Gooch
- RothWell International
- goochb@rwi.com
- Texas liaison for the International Programmers Guild
- For information on IPG, see http://www.ipgnet.com/ipghome.htm
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-