Re: [Axiom-developer] domains with parameters versus Python classes

[Ondrej Certik]

> | Not only do we want the program to be correct but we also
> | want it to accurately reflect or represent the formal structure
> | of the matematical objects that we are manipulating.
>
> Note that it is possible to write correct programs without explicit
> type annotation.  The issue relates to scale, difficulty, and
> generality of the problems and solutions.

I agree.

> I don't understand why that is an important factor.  There are very
> few programming languages that have invented anything new in the last
> decade or so.  The majority of them just copy over from existing languages
> and add some improvements.  The idea that Axiom and Spad
> programmers should feel like their language is ancient or unique
> suggests that there is a problem with Axiom and Spad users who might
> be leaving in a black hole, but I don't believe the solution to that
> problem is what I've seen in this thread.

I agree witht the arguments that you presented. Especially with "There are very
few programming languages that have invented anything new in the last
decade or so". But now comes the point, which seems natural to me, but
where we disagree - why don't we then just use a language which is the
most popular? (It doesn't have to be Python, it can be Ruby, or any
other, but I think Python is the most popular).

Ondrej