From ... From: Erik Naggum Subject: Re: Java vs lisp (was: Re: Prolog vs. Lisp) Date: 1997/04/11 Message-ID: <3069762810677843@naggum.no>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 234221532 References: <3340DFEC.3C0F@netvision.net.il> <3345783B.3AC9@nospan.netright.com> <5ib2vq$jlq$1@darla.visi.com> <334983F0.4E02@nospan.netright.com> <5ijq47$sao$1@darla.visi.com> mail-copies-to: never Organization: Naggum Software; +47 2295 0313; http://www.naggum.no Newsgroups: comp.ai,comp.lang.java.advocacy,comp.lang.lisp * Henry Baker | In fact, _standardization kills languages_. this is a curious way to look at things. standardization _should_ happen after all the experimentation and evolution has been reduced to near zero. of course, since most of those who work with standardization are fully aware that proper standardization should _not_ add tons of features to a mature language. some consider this symptoms of death, others of stability. as anybody who has seen committees invent a lot of bogosity during the standards process would know, standardization processes that do _not_ kill a language in this way are the really dangerous ones. | The only standardized human language today is Latin. Need I say more? it seems that you have a problem with standardization as such. this is not productive. standardization is supposed to take place _after_ development activity has been falling, and _before_ commercialization takes off. see http://www.javasoft.com/people/jag/StandardsPhases/index.html for a good summary of the problems of untimely standardization. #\Erik -- I'm no longer young enough to know everything.