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Python from Wise Guy's Viewpoint

Joachim Durchholz joachim.durchholz at web.de
Mon Oct 20 10:25:03 EDT 2003 
Frode Vatvedt Fjeld wrote:

> If you are afraid of method combination, then just don't use it. I can
> guarantee you that it will not jump at you from some dark cave when
> you least expect it, ripping your heart out with razor-sharp
> claws.

Unless you're maintaining code written by others.
I don't know what's the norm in the Lisp community, but I spend about 
80% of my time reading and modifying legacy code. If a language offers a 
dark corner, I'm sure I'll hit it more often than I want.
The bad thing about such dark corners is: if you try to clean the mess 
up, you'll invariably break things. After a few such mishaps, you don't 
even try to mess with that code. Avoiding messes will, after a few 
maintenance cycles, produce a true mess, until the entire system is 
thrown away and rewritten from scratch, in a different language, with 
different dark corners. Which means that, in a decade from now, when the 
original authors are gone, the same cycle will start.
Not my idea of professional software development. No sir.

> Actually, it's more like a well-trained, domesticated dog: When
> you tell it to play dead, you won't know it's there until you
> explicitly bring it to life. The same goes for most other features you
> might find intimidating.

Hey, that's the first time anybody said I found a concept intimidating!

Regards,
Jo
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