Ivan Shmakov
2013-02-01 19:06:37 UTC
[...]
posting to a Usenet newsgroup [aside: cross-posting to
news:news.misc]. Still, even as there are standard ways of
including all the sorts of nice stuff (such as SVG diagrams, or
digital signatures) into Usenet messages, there're those who'd
oppose even the inclusion of non-ASCII characters (or, if a
non-English newsgroup is considered, the use of an encoding
other than a prescribed one) or OpenPGP signatures along with
the message, even if done according to the standards.
Somehow, I come to believe that the use of a message format more
elaborate than "pure ASCII" (say: HTML5/XML) for email-like or
news-like communication may have its benefits. (Perhaps as well
as the use of such a format for the source code.)
Unfortunately, there's a catch...
[...]
are most surely going to be misused.
For an example, take a look at the contemporary Web [aside:
cross-posting to news:comp.infosystems.www.misc, too]. Every
other Web page is designed as if it's some kind of picture, not
a text (which it is, first and foremost.) Digging a bit into
CSS, what you're likely to find? Here comes an example:
body {
width: 1024px; /* 'cause everybody's screen is at least that wide */
font-size: 14px; /* it's enough for everyone, no? */
}
#leftbar { width: 384px; /* that's about 40 characters; good */ }
#forum { width: 768px; /* that's the rest of the screen */ }
Naturally, as soon as the reader of the Web page opts for
another font size (e. g., my preference would be no less than
20px), the design is screwed up instantly. (Not that this issue
is not relevant to the source code as it is right now: we have
those who adhere to the 80 characters per line limit, and those
-- who use newer code editors and IDE's, and wider screens or
smaller fonts, -- who don't; we have those who indent with 2
spaces per nesting level, and those who use 8; etc. And while a
switch to a non-ASCII code representation may obviate some of
these issues, it will certainly bring a bunch more.)
Given all the sorts of such poor designs I've seen on the Web,
I'd hesitate to use a system which /requires/ the code to be
worked on in a "WYSIWYG" fashion. Why, for the Web, my browser
of choice is Lynx, specifically for its ability to ignore CSS,
images, and all of such "creative freedom" that's so easy to
misuse. I still believe that there /are/ valid uses of such
technologies, both existing and to be developed, but for me,
there remains a big fat warning regarding their possible (as in:
most certain) misuse.
Hopefully, the technologies of tomorrow will come with some kind
of "safety mechanisms" against such...
PS. Also to note is that I don't know of any version control system
with good support for non-line-oriented data. Somehow, I feel
that even computing the "difference" (as in: diff(1)) between
two trees (as in: XML) is much more an issue than computing one
between two lists (as in: ASCII text.)
For me, the issue is that I'd like to have a document that I directly
edit and work with (not unlike using DreamWeaver, for example, in
editing HTML) that supports the inclusion of good diagrams and
perhaps, if I'm crazy enough, a short video tutorial if I'm in the
mood to produce it.
Well, I'm getting the same feeling occasionally; e. g., whenedit and work with (not unlike using DreamWeaver, for example, in
editing HTML) that supports the inclusion of good diagrams and
perhaps, if I'm crazy enough, a short video tutorial if I'm in the
mood to produce it.
posting to a Usenet newsgroup [aside: cross-posting to
news:news.misc]. Still, even as there are standard ways of
including all the sorts of nice stuff (such as SVG diagrams, or
digital signatures) into Usenet messages, there're those who'd
oppose even the inclusion of non-ASCII characters (or, if a
non-English newsgroup is considered, the use of an encoding
other than a prescribed one) or OpenPGP signatures along with
the message, even if done according to the standards.
Somehow, I come to believe that the use of a message format more
elaborate than "pure ASCII" (say: HTML5/XML) for email-like or
news-like communication may have its benefits. (Perhaps as well
as the use of such a format for the source code.)
Unfortunately, there's a catch...
[...]
It seems to me that in this day of so much work on standards, which
include not only HTML5 but also XML and many others, that we could
have compilers which aren't stuck parsing simple ASCII text. It was
fantastic (and the only way to go) when all I had was an ASR-35
clacking away and a video display (if you dared to even consider the
idea) could set you back US$40,000 or more. (I wonder how many
remember the old Plato terminals?) But today? With workstations
absolutely everywhere? And disk space almost as cheap as dirt
(though not nearly as likely to serve its purpose quite as long?)
Not just one video display; nay, not even two; but often three per
workstation??
... The problem is that these new facilities, once they appear,include not only HTML5 but also XML and many others, that we could
have compilers which aren't stuck parsing simple ASCII text. It was
fantastic (and the only way to go) when all I had was an ASR-35
clacking away and a video display (if you dared to even consider the
idea) could set you back US$40,000 or more. (I wonder how many
remember the old Plato terminals?) But today? With workstations
absolutely everywhere? And disk space almost as cheap as dirt
(though not nearly as likely to serve its purpose quite as long?)
Not just one video display; nay, not even two; but often three per
workstation??
are most surely going to be misused.
For an example, take a look at the contemporary Web [aside:
cross-posting to news:comp.infosystems.www.misc, too]. Every
other Web page is designed as if it's some kind of picture, not
a text (which it is, first and foremost.) Digging a bit into
CSS, what you're likely to find? Here comes an example:
body {
width: 1024px; /* 'cause everybody's screen is at least that wide */
font-size: 14px; /* it's enough for everyone, no? */
}
#leftbar { width: 384px; /* that's about 40 characters; good */ }
#forum { width: 768px; /* that's the rest of the screen */ }
Naturally, as soon as the reader of the Web page opts for
another font size (e. g., my preference would be no less than
20px), the design is screwed up instantly. (Not that this issue
is not relevant to the source code as it is right now: we have
those who adhere to the 80 characters per line limit, and those
-- who use newer code editors and IDE's, and wider screens or
smaller fonts, -- who don't; we have those who indent with 2
spaces per nesting level, and those who use 8; etc. And while a
switch to a non-ASCII code representation may obviate some of
these issues, it will certainly bring a bunch more.)
Given all the sorts of such poor designs I've seen on the Web,
I'd hesitate to use a system which /requires/ the code to be
worked on in a "WYSIWYG" fashion. Why, for the Web, my browser
of choice is Lynx, specifically for its ability to ignore CSS,
images, and all of such "creative freedom" that's so easy to
misuse. I still believe that there /are/ valid uses of such
technologies, both existing and to be developed, but for me,
there remains a big fat warning regarding their possible (as in:
most certain) misuse.
Hopefully, the technologies of tomorrow will come with some kind
of "safety mechanisms" against such...
PS. Also to note is that I don't know of any version control system
with good support for non-line-oriented data. Somehow, I feel
that even computing the "difference" (as in: diff(1)) between
two trees (as in: XML) is much more an issue than computing one
between two lists (as in: ASCII text.)
--
FSF associate member #7257
FSF associate member #7257