Everyone's favorite subject, Syntax (was Re: issues)

[Brian Rice]

I was too harsh here, trying to paint an either/or proposition. The  
problem is that we're conflating Slate concrete syntax from abstract  
syntax. The bottom line is that there should be an MVC setup for code  
just as we expect for user interfaces (model = abstract syntax tree,  
view = presentation of code in user-desired format, controller =  
editor bindings/metaphor PLUS lexical syntax). But asking me to code  
it is economically a losing proposition - phrasing a desire in these  
terms is adversarial and does not promote a good relationship.

The RFI page on the wiki is definitely phrased badly since I really  
cannot invite such requests and they create an adversarial  
relationship between the possibly anonymous requester and Slate  
contributors, as if there's some kind of contract that has to be  
honored for the requester to deign to use the language - this is  
truly nonsense and is my fault, and I'll try to set up the site and  
page to more equitably explain what the social contract is.

Anyway, I just wanted to explain what I think underlies this  
interaction.

On Mar 3, 2006, at 2:36 PM, Brian Rice wrote:

> Just as above, imagine a bright, shiny future where punctuation is  
> elided by visual support and turned into big, happy, mouse- 
> sensitive blobs. See "tiles mode" for Squeak code - it's a crude  
> start. No, I'm not joking - that's part of the vision. Contributing  
> makes that vision arrive sooner rather than later - not suggestions  
> that I code more for you.
>
> The entire point of Slate syntax for now is that I can easily port  
> and compare Slate code from Smalltalk-80 code. I don't care if C/ 
> Perl/Java coders find it uncomfortable - frankly, they'll just  
> write C/Perl/Java in Slate, anyway, and the point of Slate is to  
> NOT HAVE code like that in it.
>
> If you want another parser, write one.
>
> Until then, help me with the UI code and other supporting code to  
> make it work/perform better, because THAT is when I'll decide to  
> mess with other syntaxes - NOT A MOMENT before then.

--
-Brian
http://tunes.org/~water/brice.vcf

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