Time Machine: Spit!!!
in [UK Mac]
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From: Bella Jones on 23 Nov 2009 05:18 Tim Streater <timstreater(a)waitrose.com> wrote: > On 23/11/2009 04:37, Rowland McDonnell wrote: > > > > I expect so, but I also assume that any suggestion you are making is > > made in bad faith for the purposes of causing me bother. > > Here we're dealing with a technical question. If however you make a > statement like "there are people I'd like to shove red hot pokers up the > bums of", then you can expect a different reaction. *giggle* -- bellajonez at yahoo dot co dot uk
From: Ben Shimmin on 23 Nov 2009 05:55 Tim Streater <timstreater(a)waitrose.com>: > On 23/11/2009 01:07, Ben Shimmin wrote: >> Tim Streater<timstreater(a)waitrose.com>: >>> On 22/11/2009 22:09, Rowland McDonnell wrote: >>>> For me, the problem is that there seem to be no good learning resources >>>> for *ANY* scripting language or indeed any programming language I can >>>> find out about on Macs. >>> >>> Have you tried PHP? That has a large set of APIs to all sorts of things, >>> a reasonable C-like syntax, easy string handling, and a very good >>> website where the docs appear to be written in an adult fashion (unlike >>> perl). I use no other. >> >> PHP has 53 built-in functions which start with `array'. I think that's >> quite a good indication of the sort of language it is. > > And over 90 for string handling. And we haven't even started on those to > allow access to the file system, or to interface to other packages such > as SQLite, mysql, etc, and so on. Why do you think I use it? Just for > that reason! So your point is what, exactly? If your only criterion for the excellence of a programming language is having thousands of functions (with completely inconsistent names) that do everything under the sun in a vague attempt to make your life easier, rather than to help you do things in anything approaching a sensible, orderly way, then I'm sure PHP is the perfect language for you. b. -- <bas(a)bas.me.uk> <URL:http://bas.me.uk/> `Property, marriage, the law; as the bed to the river, so rule and convention to the instinct; and woe to him who tampers with the banks while the flood is flowing.' -- Samuel Butler, _Erewhon_
From: Peter Ceresole on 23 Nov 2009 06:13 Bella Jones <me9(a)privacy.net> wrote: > > Can I offer you a cup of tea and a damp towel to put over your forehead? > > Yes please. English Breakfast, or Lapsang Souchong? -- Peter
From: Tim Streater on 23 Nov 2009 06:17 On 23/11/2009 10:55, Ben Shimmin wrote: > Tim Streater<timstreater(a)waitrose.com>: >> On 23/11/2009 01:07, Ben Shimmin wrote: >>> Tim Streater<timstreater(a)waitrose.com>: >>>> On 22/11/2009 22:09, Rowland McDonnell wrote: >>>>> For me, the problem is that there seem to be no good learning resources >>>>> for *ANY* scripting language or indeed any programming language I can >>>>> find out about on Macs. >>>> >>>> Have you tried PHP? That has a large set of APIs to all sorts of things, >>>> a reasonable C-like syntax, easy string handling, and a very good >>>> website where the docs appear to be written in an adult fashion (unlike >>>> perl). I use no other. >>> >>> PHP has 53 built-in functions which start with `array'. I think that's >>> quite a good indication of the sort of language it is. >> >> And over 90 for string handling. And we haven't even started on those to >> allow access to the file system, or to interface to other packages such >> as SQLite, mysql, etc, and so on. Why do you think I use it? Just for >> that reason! So your point is what, exactly? > > If your only criterion for the excellence of a programming language is > having thousands of functions (with completely inconsistent names) that > do everything under the sun in a vague attempt to make your life easier, > rather than to help you do things in anything approaching a sensible, > orderly way, then I'm sure PHP is the perfect language for you. My criteria include: 1) ease of use 2) usability in the real world (so, people have provided APIs for things (such as SQLite) that I might actually want to use it with) 3) it comes free with the OS 4) there is decent documentation 5) errr ... 6) that's probably not it. Sure, the naming conventions for some of the functions are inconsistent. So life's not perfect. -- Tim "That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted" Bill of Rights 1689
From: Jochem Huhmann on 23 Nov 2009 07:09
Ben Shimmin <bas(a)llamaselector.com> writes: > If your only criterion for the excellence of a programming language is > having thousands of functions (with completely inconsistent names) that > do everything under the sun in a vague attempt to make your life easier, > rather than to help you do things in anything approaching a sensible, > orderly way, then I'm sure PHP is the perfect language for you. Well, you don't *have* do use all these fancy functions. And while I'd agree that PHP is a total mess here, this just reflects what's done with PHP most of the time (messing around with strings, arrays, files and databases). Other languages have much more diversified uses and add thousands of functions via thousands of optional libraries instead. Convenient functions for lazy hackers coughing out bad HTML is exactly what PHP was made for. And it's quite good at that. I think nobody ever meant it to be an "excellent programming language". Jochem -- "A designer knows he has arrived at perfection not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery |