[E-Lang] newbie syntax: picayune points from a prejudiced programmer

[Marc Stiegler]

> This is needed to make command line usage pleasant.  The shell languages
> people are used to don't require parens, dots, semicolons, or hardly any
> punctuation at all on simple invocations.  If they did, people would use
> different languages as shells. One of my goals, which I perhaps should
have
> made more explicit, is to use one language as a shell, a lightweight
> "programming in the small" scripting language, and a serious "programming
in
> the large" language. If this goal creates too great a conflict with the
> others, I would drop it. But I don't consider the issues raised here
serious
> enough to give up on this "broad spectrum" goal.

BTW, markm, I think you have done an amazing job of making a single language
that serves all three of these purposes...though it does carry the risk
factor Zooko points out, of increasing the threshold of transition for
people in different categories (specifically java programmers in the
discussions here).

I also cannot get excited enough about the missing dot to recommend changing
it...though that may be my Smalltalk heritage getting in the way of sound
reasoning about Java programmer adoption. I suppose if Zooko hammers me hard
enough on the matter, he may be able to get me to change my mind...though,
since Zooko also thought Python was an easy transition, he may have to work
pretty hard, since Python looks wildly less like Java than E does (at least
to my eyes :-)

Zooko, your assault is great. Keep it up (my ulterior motive, of course, is
to ensure you read the entire  book :-)

--marcs