Hocus Pocus

StefanL, 04.05.14, 19:55

Since the olden times of the late 40ies when irreverent authors in novel novels launched the s-word its use has been multiplied by internet discussion groups and boards and has since reached one climax after the other inside composite com machines that go by names like tweeter and visagebook. Even barbary coast governments have had a hard time surviving. It would...

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Seven (give or take) Smalltalk Implementations

StefanL, 04.08.11, 07:53

As a follow up to yesterday's post, here are two serious recommendations for anyone really interested in the mid and long term growth of language systems The first of these is to a book I got borrowed (and really about Big- not Smalltalk): How The Hebrew Language Grew by one Edward Horowitz, a former president of the American Association of Teachers...

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A Long Chess Game

StefanL, 03.08.11, 07:19

More than a year ago, Brendan Eich inserted an interesting posting on the lambda the ultimate languages blog. By the way, that whole thread is worth a thorough read. Eich is right, it is a very long and slow chess game indeed. Chess though, I should mention, is also a weak and slightly distorting model in that it contains to little...

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Fixed Wire Smartphones

StefanL, 28.06.11, 06:53

Vor kurzem haben wir einmal lachen müssen über den heutzutage eher peinlichen Pleonasmus "mobiles Smartphone". Ein entfernterer Kollege brachte den Ausdruck in einer ein bisschen großspurigen Darstellung angeblicher vergangener und zukünftiger Leistungen zur Anwendung. Ich denke, die Psycholinguisten wissen schon, wie das zustande kommt. Im Jahr 2011 ist es natürlich sehr überflüssig, näher zu bestimmen, dass ein "Smartphone" mobil ist, aber...

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All we are saying, is give design a chance.

StefanL, 31.01.06, 15:14

"And then one night I was watching The Bridge over the River Kwai and drinking Guiness; and I heard Alec Guiness say: "It's got to be a proper bridge." And suddenly I knew! If designs are ruined by execution details, then we should divorce designs from execution. Implementation is harmful to designs! Implementation ruins the elegance, beauty, and symmetry of designs....

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Agile Ahem

StefanL, 27.01.06, 18:18

www.agilemanifesto.org www.agilemanifesto.org www.agilemanifesto.org warming old hats .. and critizising yesteryears mistakes inhouse programming customer relationship

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Growing Languages - Java

StefanL, 23.01.06, 01:39

I have reread Guy L. Steele Jr.'s 1998 paper Growing a Language (PDF, download). That was a talk he did for OOPSLA, I think. Definitely the best Java paper I know and one of the best Computer Language papers ever probably. As far as the knowledge of your humble correspondent reaches, anyhow. Read, reread, reread!

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That Brian Brain Again

StefanL, 30.12.05, 00:10

An old debate in CS (going back to Cobol vs. Fortran and never resolved) on "minimal" vs. "humane" vocabulary and syntax of languages gets an actual treatment in: The Nexus of Guts and Glitz: At first blush, this would seem any easy call. My Smalltalk roots (among other things) are likely showing when I say I see no harm in a larger,...

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