Concern over proposed EMACScript
christos.jon...@gmail.com
I am writing to express my grave concern over the new proposal for
EMACScript to replace current ECMA scripting (i.e. JavaScript) as the
new standard for web scripting.
You say in your proposal that the new and improved EMACScript should
'finally realize the dream of allowing EVERY modern graphical web
browser--Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera--to compete with Mozilla
Seamonkey on its own terms.' I fear that this is true, but this is not
a dream at all. It is a nightmare. What hinders Internet Explorer, for
instance, is not that as a pure 'web browser,' it cannot compete with
a 'web browser and webpage editor and POP/IMAP e-mail client and IM
client and newsreader and calendar and PIM tool and OS/platform and
religion and kitchen sink and fully customizable kitchen sink
factory.' The reason Firefox rather quickly displaced the original
Mozilla all-in-one as the most popular open source graphical browser
is that Firefox carries the liabilities of a web browser alone, rather
than the bloat and liabilities of an all-in-one package, and there are
considerable advantage to 'only' being a web browser, and CONTINUING
to only do something that works well. This really constitutes A Very
Good Thing.
Admittedly, as you say, 'browser add-ons can add almost any extension
to EMACScript that a computer can run, implemented in a language
consisting solely of parentheses.' What you say may be true, but this
also is not a dream but a nightmare: most of the problems in existing
JavaScript as ECMA script is now implemented are less a matter of how
JavaScript HAS NOT been extended than how it HAS.
Furthermore, you say that the new EMACScript is easier to learn than
the alternative, and it seems odd for people who know the alternative
to switch because EMACScript is, after all, easier to learn. I won't
contest that EMACScript could be easier to learn if you're beginning,
but if you already know how to use the current alternative, then the
English translation of 'easier' is 'expect roadbumps: your practical
knowledge of how to work smoothly will no longer be anything
approaching an easy way to work smoothly,' or to simply cut to the
chase, 'your knowledge will seem almost useless now.' Maybe it IS
easier for newcomers not to have to be burdened with some features of
the alternative, like modal state--but you never seem to acknowledge
that dated modal state allows single-keystroke navigation with the
fingers of one hand never leaving home row, and that this is a
genuinely nice feature. People who switch may find surprises that add
up to a long-standing pain in the wrist.
And finally, kindly Sir or Madam, please--I'm only a poor arachnid,
and I am part of the picture of creatures you're trying to serve. As a
tarantula, I simply haven't got enough limbs to press all the modifier
keys needed to do anything useful.
Cordially yours,
Eight Legs And Constantly Swapping
--
-- Jonathan Hayward, christos.jon...@gmail.com
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Joe Pfeiffer
spam, I've got to say that the typo in the subject leads to all sort
of fascinating possibilities... just imagine Emacs Lisp as the
standard web scripting language...
Joost Diepenmaat
IIRC the original intent of netscape was to create some kind of
"scheme for the web". Shame they didn't go with some scheme/OO hybrid,
really.
--
Joost Diepenmaat | blog: http://joost.zeekat.nl/ | work: http://zeekat.nl/
Joe Pfeiffer
(the *really* good parodies are the ones you miss on the first
read... thanks to Ben for gently pointing this one out to me)
Tim Streater
Joe Pfeiffer <pfei...@cs.nmsu.edu> wrote:
That should be <nutella> and you don't need any closing tag, for that,
ever.
Joe Pfeiffer
Checking.... turns out I meant <litella>. You're probably right about
the closing tag, especially in my case.