On Sep 18, 2011, at 3:38 PM, Stuart Halloway wrote: >> The burden, no matter how distributed, of answering that question >> forevermore greatly outweighs the burden of moving a def- macro from a >> contrib file to a core file. It even outweighs the aesthetic concerns (which >> I confess I don't understand). > > Alan covered the biggest problem succinctly: it pollutes the language core to > provide convenience APIs that are combinatorial in nature.
I mean this in the friendliest and most supportive possible way, but since Justin Gehtland recently called me an iconoclast, I am obliged: The API already contains `find` and `contains?`, which are woefully misleading names. That's not a big deal: I'm *terrible* at naming. I tell people that all the time. I've learned to accept it. It doesn't detract from my wonderfulness. It doesn't detract from the underlying wonderfulness of the software I produce. It just means I have to rethink and revise names, especially after other people use them and say "WTF??". It's a shame it's too late to do that for `find` and `contains?`. Fortunately, additions are easier than changes. I hope `def-` hasn't become an issue of pride, a matter of digging in. I sense it has. I hope `def` is not a matter of saying "But if we make this one exception, we have no principled reason to reject any other exception." That's not how human negotiation and communication works. I really think `def-` would be a good gesture, a minor but emblematic step on the way to widespread acceptance of Clojure, which (for my sake) I really, really, really hope for. ----- Brian Marick, Artisanal Labrador Contract programming in Ruby and Clojure Occasional consulting on Agile www.exampler.com, www.twitter.com/marick -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Clojure" group. To post to this group, send email to clojure@googlegroups.com Note that posts from new members are moderated - please be patient with your first post. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to clojure+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/clojure?hl=en
