OpenEuphoria

A different proposal

• Posted by mountains at MINDSPRING.COM Jun 03, 1998
• 702 views

After trying to follow the discussion of OOP, but getting lost,
I'd like to say:

 1. The one thing that makes Euphoria stand out from other
    similar languages is _simplicity_.*

 2. Sometimes adding stuff to a language can actually make it
    _simpler_.

 3. OOP, if implemented correctly, would make programming
    in Euphoria _simpler_.

 4. A GUI, if implemented correctly, would make programming
    and using Euphoria _simpler_.

An explanation is in order:
Let's say I want to make a program to ask a user to enter
her/his/its name,(we're nothing if not politically correct),
and make a choice to save or not to save:

I want to be able to write my program more or less as:

-- add a name to my database:
   msg = ("Please enter your name and address below",
           NAME,STREET,CITY,STATE,ZIP,
          {OK,CANCEL})
   if msg(ok) then SaveToDatabase(msg[data])
   end if

Now, this could be on a plain black screen, or it could be in
a colorful window. Ideally, that shouldn't matter to the workings
of the program. The programmer should be able to add a line, say
"include mac_gui.e" at the top, and the appearance would change,
but the functionality would not.

Is this do-able?
- Yes.
Would it slow Euphoria down too much?
- I don't think so, if it was implemented properly.
Does it require OOP?
- Maybe not, but OOPishness would sure make the job easier.
Does it require GUI libraries?
- Yes, but not in the form we have written them so far.
Is it worth doing?
- Only if Rob would like a few hundred thousand new Euphoria
  registrations;)

What I'm saying is: we're trying to play by someone else's rules;
Euphoria is different, maybe we should try to come
up with a fresh approach to enhancements as well.

Thoughts?

Irv

*Note: I didn't forget safety. That's just another form
of simplicity - it's simpler not to _have_ to track down
runaway pointers, uninit. variables, etc.