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IsPython really O-O?

Nahuel Greco ngreco at softhome.net
Mon Nov 12 14:48:06 EST 2001 
On 12 Nov 2001 11:15:19 -0800
jason at jvoegele.com (Jason Voegele) wrote:

> <kentsmith at dxsys.com> wrote in message news:<AbkH7.41130$bf1.4968343 at news20.bellglobal.com>...
> > A Smalltalk guru in our organization looked at Python last weekend (after I
> > had made a big scene saying that it may be a solution to some of our
> > cross-platform issues) and came away saying that it was no more
> > object-oriented than Java.  I sputtered around a bit but could hardly make a
> > decent argument, as I'm a mere designer.  We do very large-scale industrial
> > work here, all O-O, with object databases (I thought the ZODB business
> > looked great).  Is my friend right?  Is Python not "really" appropriate for
> > true O-O applications, in the sense that Viz-Age Smalltalk and Eifel and so
> > on are???
> 
> Unfortunately, everybody has their own opinion on what "is OO", and
> what is "pure OO".  Personally, I don't consider Python to be a pure
> OO language.  I consider it a hybrid language with support for OO, but
> that doesn't mean it's not useful.  I've formulated my own opinion
> about what makes a language "Pure OO", which you can read here:
> 
> http://www.jvoegele.com/software/langcomp.html
> 

I share that opinion and the ones in your page, but you are making a common
mistake, you must view ST as a language/syntax, but also as an "Object Ambient",
or "Box with objects to play". The language really doesnt matter too much, you
can make other parsers in the Ambient (i know Lisp & Prolog in ST, but not
python). 

By now, the unique "Objects Ambients" that i know are ST and Self, and i think
that CLOS classifies also, but without tools (browsers, etc, or yes?). And
ZOPE a little, but i dont like it too much :)

The really revolutionary thing is the concept of "Objects Box", where you
program / use manipulating objects. 

I think that is the future, if you see the trend in the OS camp, you see that
for example, OLE, COM, and .NET or any component model is trying to reach that.
Also the inclusion of metadata in the filesystems. Or the uniformity of device
access / file access in Unix.

In the end of the road, your computer will be full of objects, not "documents"
and "binaries", all visually manipulable in a Gibson way :)


- Nahuel Greco                 Web Development - Open Source - 
- http://www.codelarvs.com.ar  Game Programming - Research   -
- Freelance coding / sysadmin  Networking. The answer is 42. -
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