>>47
Using one-dimensional qualifiers (,,good'' vs ,,bad'') to describe things as complex as a programming environment is beyond stupid, at least in my opinion. You can tentatively set up a list of criteria and their corresponding weights, but it's hard (if not impossible) to get more than a handful of people to agree on them. Based on my personal set of criteria, I dislike all languages I am aware of. So what?
It's all subjective and it is doing nothing in advancing the situation -- we are no better than Reddit or Slashdot or all these communities of people who do nothing but argue and argue and argue all day without anyone actually stepping up and trying to make a change. I have nothing but respect for the so-called ,,In Lisp'' fellow, who has actually
done something -- he hasn't published his findings yet, though I assume he wants to perfect his work before putting it out in the wild.
Programming, in my opinion, is one of the most creative activities in the world, seconded only by mathematics and arts. Many fail to understand this, perhaps the majority of programmers, even. Programming is more of an art than art itself. Seeing a bunch of people waste their time arguing about programming environments makes me think of a bunch of unjustifiably pompous art critics arguing the inner meaning of some modern artist's five and a half smudges of paint on a canvas. Humility is a virtue, and I have yet to see a ,,you're right, C++ does have some design quirks''; or a ,,you're right, Lisp is a bit too unfamiliar and doesn't do much to help it''; or a ,,you're right, Haskell introduces some perhaps unnecessary complexity at times''; or a ,,you're right, Python's block delimiter does make things awfully awkward at times''.
But all these things can be helped
! If the languages you are dealing with aren't what you want them to be, then
make them be. The maintainer isn't very open to change? Fork it or rewrite it. Unlike most fields of work, you truly have the power to change, maybe even revolutionize, your world -- and it is nothing but keystrokes away. Will you step up to the challenge?