Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!ucsd!ucbvax!van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!a684
From: Nick_Janow@mindlink.UUCP (Nick Janow)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Reusability considered harmful??(!!)
Message-ID: <4639@mindlink.UUCP>
Date: 30 Jan 91 23:14:22 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Lines: 18


EGNILGES@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Ed Nilges) writes:

> "Reusable" software components are very often ugly to use because they do
> more at run time than the potential reuser wants them to do.

Forth, with its low overhead for words (modules/subroutines), encourages reuse
of code, which in turn encourages writing code in a manner that makes it
reusable.  Writing an application consists of using the available words to
write larger words, which in turn are used to write larger words...  Since
complex words are made up of smaller words, it's easy to go back to a point and
reuse parts of it, if the whole word doesn't quite meet your needs.

A language that has high overhead for writing and calling modules (including
the programmer's time cost of having to declare--and document--every variable)
might discourage small modules, so there will be a temptation to pack each
module with extra features.  Can anyone using a different language (C, Pascal,
etc) confirm this?