On Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 9:38 AM, Casper Bang <[email protected]> wrote: > The big mistake here is to think in lines. There ARE no lines, only > nodes we have come to interpret by reading many thousands source > files. Line wrapping would at least allow developers to remain focused > on the scope/block, rather than the line at hand. A correct > implementation of line wrap, would wrap to the existing indentation > scope (unlike i.e. Visual Studio, which wraps to column 0). I also > believe, with increased focus on "what's to be done" (declarative and > functional code), we'll get rid of much of the explicit details > revolving around "how it's done" (imperative code).
It sounds like we are saying about the same thing. My point is just a little stronger. I believe people are lulled into a false sense of thinking that line-wrapping and indentation are easy problems. With written word, people typically think of prose, where the paragraph does a good job of deciding what to wrap/indent. As soon as you move towards more structured texts, suddenly these are problems again. Imagine having to wrap Haiku because it was indented to be close to the end of a "line." Your last line, though, I think really sums up my main qualm in all of this. The simple fact of the matter is that Java is not a readable language by default. It takes effort to structure the code in such a way that it is more readable. If you want more readable text, it might be worth the look at more "readable" languages. And, to be clear, I'm not saying it can not be done. Just that it takes even more effort in Java than it does in some other languages. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Java Posse" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en.
