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Re: Direct (but not immediate) Costs
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Posted: Mar 28, 2005 7:02 PM
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> But, isn't part of the problem that we don't look beyond > the immediate price tag to all of the true costs of > software? ... > Haven't we, as both users and developers, learned our > lessons yet?
Obviously not. Mass insanity prevails. At least from where I sit. But don't look at me. I no longer program for a living (moved into project management) primarily because of the mass insanity. C++ and Java and other intentionally limited machine oriented languages of that ilk have sucked every bit of fun out of software development. So I quit because I think you are all mad and I don't want to play with madmen.
I still program. Just not for money. I write things in Squeak (Smalltalk) and Objective C (Macintosh). Smalltalk is the language you are all wishing for. I dare say it is the first language intentionally developed to be convenient for the person rather than the machine. This was probably its downfall because it was too advanced for the hardware when it was first introduced but its a long way from dead.
Nearly all of the recent innovations in software development have originated from the Smalltalk community. Among them are TDD, XP, AOP (which is more or less trivial in Smalltalk to implement so it hasn't been elevated to a whole new thing) and Traits. The language is completely written in itself which makes in amenable to the development of new kinds of language constructs like continuations (http:://seaside.st), prototype based development (think Self), and simulation (eToys).
I see talk about inventing new languages, but I think mining our past for good ideas is likely more fertile ground and Smalltalk certainly deserves a second look.
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