Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!watdragon!djsalomon
From: djsalomon@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Daniel J. Salomon)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Perfect language features: how many languages?
Message-ID: <4930@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Date: 1 Feb 88 17:13:30 GMT
References: <3928@ames.arpa> <2400001@otter.HP.COM> <960@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP> <10407@mimsy.UUCP>
Reply-To: djsalomon@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Daniel J. Salomon)
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 11

In article <10407@mimsy.UUCP> chris@mimsy.UUCP (Chris Torek) writes:
>The idea of a universal language has appeal:  One language
>for every problem.  So does the idea of a universal vaccine:
>One cure for every illness.  Personally, I believe the chances
>for either are about the same.

This is a poor analogy.  The function of a programming language is
totally different from a vaccine, and so is the development process.
A vaccine has strict biological constraints on its size and form, but a
programming language has few constraints.  Save this cute line for
cocktail parties when people are too drunk to analyze it.