> C and C++ don't have  /  , which is why it is in the STL.  I could write
> /  in almost any language (particularly one with macros or a
> preprocessor), but I'm specifically talking about mainstream languages
> building it into the syntax.  Besides, I've had to read a lot of C++ and
> I've never seen the use of accumulate.

Surely you don't expect the syntax of C and C++ to change... People are
still writing Fortan70 despite the existence of Fortran90...
 
> Currently, the majority of commercial code* is written in C, C++, Java,
> C#, and VB (6 and .NET).   AFAIK, none of those languages have  /  built

True, not into the syntax, but into their standard libraries. LINQ will move
map/reduce even closer to the actual syntax of the language. But it's up to
the people to use it. I would.

> extent within each program).  Better yet, I'd like to know what
> proportion of professional programmers understand and use it**.

Probably very small. But... Have you ever read programs written by a badly
trained APL developer? Is it the fault of the language the fact that there
are thousands of so-so C++ developers? A colleague of mine once had to write
a large and complex application in Excel using VBA. The first thing he did
was to build himself a library of APL-like functions and operators... Then
he wrote the add-in into this hybrid language. Unsurprisingly it was at the
same time efficient, relatively bug-free and readable. But when I showed
some people that it was possible to write rank-independent code in VB,
though it wasn't pretty, those people cringed in fear. Is it the language's
fault or the bad training?


-- 
WildHeart'2k6 - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
My digipics and blogs: http://spaces.msn.com/members/wildy2k5/


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