[self-interest] Being Popular

[Tripp Lilley]

On Wed, 2 May 2001, Jecel Assumpcao Jr wrote:

> I agree with just about everything Paul Graham wrote, except the part 
> about macros. I mean, he is absolutely right that they were very 
> important for Lisp but I feel we should be thinking more graphically 
> and in terms of object graphs and message send patterns instead of 
> trying to make text a little prettier.

I understand and agree with this motivation, but I also think that "making
text a little prettier" pays dividends even when we -are- concentrating on
graphs and messages. At some point, text is a very -good- representation
for action. When well-wrought, it is concise and evocative. Ultimately, we
need to strive to balance the graphical, structural, and textual elements
of programming.

For this balance, I think we can look to the architecture discipline for
inspiration. I rarely see a more complete balance of forces than I see in
the work of great architects. The wonderful thing about our discipline is
the freedom we have to bring together the literary, the visual, the
mathematical, and the structural in ways even they never imagined :)

-- 
   Tripp Lilley  *  http://stargate.eheart.sg505.net/~tlilley/
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  "If people would stop behaving like greedy idiots, I'd be sweetness
   and light every fucking day." - Dave Winer, Scripting News, 2001-04-11