Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!dan
From: dan@Apple.COM (Dan Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: Occam's HyperRazor
Message-ID: <25272@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 3 Feb 89 23:41:31 GMT
References: <39800004@m.cs.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 28

Interesting comments about keeping the language simple.  As you pointed
out, such language innovations are not backwards compatible, so for this
incarnation of HyperCard, I doubt you will see your suggestions
implemented.

HyperTalk was meant to be somewhat like English.  There is a lot of
redundancy built into English as well as HyperTalk.  The goal of
HyperTalk was to make programming accessible to people that have not
programmed before.  I believe it has met its goal very well.

For serious programming perhaps there should be a way of downshifting
into HyperC or somesuch language that is a more formal language.  I
think such a language would be neat myself, but it would scare off the
average never-having-programmed type of people.

Keep up the good comments and ideas!


Dan Allen                **    dan@apple.COM (Unix mail)
Software Explorer        **    ALLEN.DAN (AppleLink)
HyperCard Team           **    20525 Mariani Ave. MS 22AE
Apple Computer           **    Cupertino, CA 95014
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