Where is the casual programming? • Hacker News Board

Re: Where is the casual programming?

#81

Post by read_wharf » Wed, Apr 11, 2012, 1:08 AM UTC

sophacles wrote: post #67

read_wharf wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Further, a car is simple to use out of the box" Exactly my point. They didn't use to be simple. Crank, choke, throttle, water in the battery, where's the next fuel repository, where are my goggles, where is the rug for my legs, etc. Now they are, and you just think of moving your body from here to there, and almost not at all about how to make your car help you do that. Now people use a car casually . It's that kind…

My point was that a car is an application. Facebook is also simple to use out of the box, and is far more "a car for the web" than a "transportation logistics engine for the web". There is NOT an intuitive interface out there for designing a car or a robust transportation logistics system.

But there is an interface for cars that has evolved into something that is intuitive, and all new cars are designed with that in mind.

Re: Where is the casual programming?

#82

Post by mohamedsa » Wed, Apr 11, 2012, 1:42 AM UTC

muyuu wrote: post #72

mohamedsa wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Certainly does a lot of what I wish in a casual programming tool! I just wish the IDE had the autocomplete, quickfix, refactoring features of Eclipse...

Racket is Scheme... which is probably as far away from Java as it gets. You don't need these features in Scheme. By not needing, I mean that they get in the way more than they help. Give it a shot.

I know Scheme; actually implemented my own toy lisp at some point - continuations and all. Still, Racket (or Gambit...etc) is much more than the basic language, and I don't want to spend days reading - once again - how to draw a line on the screen or render a web form or use modules or do any of the stuff needed for a non-trivial application all before I get started.

I could do that if I really needed, but it wouldn't be casual programming any more. This is where all the autocomplete stuff comes in for me. I just discover the libraries I need when I need them.

As for quickfix, it means I could write the program top-down by calling function that don't exist yet, using uncreated data structures, and then with a few clicks have the IDE create all the skeleton code waiting to fill-in.

I think such tools would be valuable in any language.

Re: Where is the casual programming?

#83

Post by muyuu » Wed, Apr 11, 2012, 9:58 AM UTC

mohamedsa wrote: post #82

muyuu wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Racket is Scheme... which is probably as far away from Java as it gets. You don't need these features in Scheme. By not needing, I mean that they get in the way more than they help. Give it a shot.

I know Scheme; actually implemented my own toy lisp at some point - continuations and all. Still, Racket (or Gambit...etc) is much more than the basic language, and I don't want to spend days reading - once again - how to draw a line on the screen or render a web form or use modules or do any of the stuff needed for a non-trivial application all before I get started. I could do that if I really needed, but it wouldn'…

> I don't want to spend days reading - once again - how to draw a line on the screen or render a web form or use modules or do any of the stuff needed for a non-trivial application all before I get started.

This is why I gave you the link above.

This particular scheme comes with all that included and easily accessible. It's quite simple, just check that out. And the editor is, IMO, A LOT better than Eclipse (though I may be biased, I despise Eclipse).