Re: general issues

[Giovanni Zezza]

Il Mon, 19 Feb 2001 12:05:41 -0800 (PST), Efraim Yawitz scriveva:

>for example?  I'm not really familiar with it, but it seems that the GUI
>programs are very popular, and it is natural to wonder whether the
>non-interactive approach will survive at all.

This is a large, and largely questionable, subject. It's hard not to put
some religious point on it. In my (religious) opinion, the real alternative
isn't GUI vs non-interactive, but rather language driven vs "point and
click" driven programs (and this is a questionable definition too, for
"point and click" is nothing but a language, in someone's (me, for example)
opinion, but let's stay with a more usual definition of language, with
respect to computers, as something you write).

With respect of this point, I think language driven programs should, and
will, survive forever (well, for a long while: maybe Star Trek-like
computers eventually will overcome).

They are not, necessarily, non-iteractive, and they may be far more
powerful than the "point and click" alternatives in a lot of ways and for a
lot of works. As for document formatting, a very large amount of it can be
better done without "point and click".
This doesn't mean you have not to point when you really need to, but,
well... need of pointing was lately largely exagerated, in my opinion.

Ciao.