This thread in comp.lang.python reminds me of the reason why certain languages sometimes just die. For people not seeing the problem, Guido Van Rossum, the maker of Python, is expecting to add an optional feature in the Python language that will allow people to tell the program the type of variable one is using (optional static typing). The point people against the proposal are making is that if this feature were to be implemented it would eventually de facto become a requirement and kill the language altogether. This is not a small point by any means, I switched from Fortran to Matlab in a matter of minutes when I realized I did not need to tell the program that such and such variables were of a certain form/type. The parallel I would suggest using is that of the French language and the French Academy. The French Academy was set up in order to unify the country around a language thereby enabling every citizen to acurately understand the laws of the country. By providing a better framework, it has fulfilled its role of unifying the country around a language at the expense of running out of steam with languages that were a little bit more dynamic (american english). In the end, it's popularity has decreased substantially when spoken outside of France and many people think this is due to the nitpicking aspect of adding new features so that they would fit a larger and consistent framework.
What is surprising to me is that the feature that made me run away from Fortran is likely to make me run away from python if it becomes a requirement. The matlab or Lisp folks sure aren't making this mistake. Could another solution to this whole question be to have very intelligent Python compilers ?
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