Re^3: Perl for big projects

By your definition, every non-trivial application in every programming language is write-only. No matter how proficient one is in the language used, the first encounter with a non-trivial application will find the reader in that state of understanding the details but not (yet) grasping the whole.

Comment on Re^3: Perl for big projects

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Re^4: Perl for big projects by Anonymous Monk on Jul 14, 2006 at 03:58 UTC
No matter how proficient one is in the language used, the first encounter with a non-trivial application will find the reader in that state of understanding the details but not (yet) grasping the whole. The key thing here, I think, is the phrase "first encounter". In a write-only language the N-th encounter remains obscure.	[reply]
Re^4: Perl for big projects by Anonymous Monk on Jul 14, 2006 at 21:23 UTC
By your definition, every non-trivial application in every programming language is write-only. Seems like there's at least a grain of truth in that statement, no? And by your definition, there is no such thing as a write only language. Why bother inventing a new term for a non-existant concept?	[reply]
Re^5: Perl for big projects by gloryhack (Deacon) on Jul 15, 2006 at 09:07 UTC
I'm inclined to agree with you. Most of the programming languages I've seen have been specified by folks who intended for them to be used, so some effort has gone into making them sensible (although sometimes obtuse). The concept of a write-only language, though, is useful to those who would design new languages even if there isn't a ready example of a write-only language to be pointed at and derided.	[reply]
Re^5: Perl for big projects by Aristotle (Chancellor) on Jul 16, 2006 at 12:52 UTC
Why indeed? The only write-only language I know is Unlambda. Makeshifts last the longest.	[reply]