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Re: Around again, and docs lead role
From: |
Robert Uhl |
Subject: |
Re: Around again, and docs lead role |
Date: |
04 May 2003 15:34:01 -0600 |
User-agent: |
Gnus/5.0808 (Gnus v5.8.8) Emacs/21.2 |
Thamer Al-Harbash <address@hidden> writes:
>
> > To be successful at that, it's useful to have a tutorial,
> > particularly when the language is as odd as a Lisp dialect can seem
> > as first. Those unfamiliar with Scheme who happen upon Guile are
> > likely to skip past, scared away by the parentheses and lack of a
> > thorough introduction.
>
> I propose placing a link from the guile page to an on-line copy of the
> Prentice Hall book which is reproduced there with the permission of
> the publisher.
It's my opinion (and I could be _quite_ wrong on this) that users don't
really care about the language/implementation distinction. They use
Perl; they use Python; they use Common Lisp; they use Guile. They don't
want to have to keep in mind `this is the core of the language, while
that is an implementation-specific add-on.' And really, they're kind of
right: just as there is a commonality between Common Lisp and Scheme, so
too there is a commonality between e.g. guile, gambit and SCM--but from
the user's point of view, they're not-quite-compatible & thus different.
What users want, I believe, is not an `introduction to Scheme,' but
rather an `introduction to guile.' The former tells them about a
language; the latter tells them how to solve their problems. I'm not
saying that viewpoint is necessarily right or wrong, but it's my
perception of what is in fact the case.
--
Robert Uhl <address@hidden>
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
- Re: Around again, and docs lead role, Robert Uhl, 2003/05/03
- Re: Around again, and docs lead role, rm, 2003/05/03
- Re: Around again, and docs lead role, Robert Uhl, 2003/05/03
- Re: Around again, and docs lead role, rm, 2003/05/04
- Re: Around again, and docs lead role, Robert Uhl, 2003/05/04
- Re: Around again, and docs lead role, Thien-Thi Nguyen, 2003/05/04
Re: Around again, and docs lead role, Neil Jerram, 2003/05/08