Josef 'Jupp' Schugt
6/2/2005 8:46:00 AM
Hi!
I broke the thread to avoid that this message is accidentally ignored
by some 'ignore thread' feature (fortunately Wanderlust allows to edit
the message header :-)
At Thu, 26 May 2005 22:51:39 +0900, Yukihiro Matsumoto wrote:
> But I'm tired of explaining POLS again and again. I haven't even
> used it first. I hope no one will use the term "POLS" any more to
> sell Ruby. It's free after all.
The "POLS" section of the comp.lang.ruby FAQ reads:
2.6 What is "POLS"?
POLS is an abbreviation for "Principle of Least Surprise" (also
called the Law of Least Astonishment).
This term certainly did not originate in the Ruby community, but
it has been frequently used there -- even overused or abused at
times. After all, *every* language or software system seeks at
some level to adhere to this principle. Is any system designed
to be unintuitive?
It is inappropriate to invoke POLS as a "magic word" when one's
individual expectations are not met. Ruby continues to evolve,
and Matz often makes changes based on people wishes, needs, or
suggestions. But he cannot be bribed or threatened. Make
suggestions if you wish, but think twice before mentioning POLS.
Perhaps it would make sense to add an actual definition (to the extend
that is possible) of what POLS actually means so that one can simply
refer to the FAQ.
Josef 'Jupp' SCHUGT
--
"NO" to the European constitution means "YES" to democracy, not "NO" to
Europe - presently Europe as a whole is governed by a central committee
while the parliament only has very limited power. Thank you, France.