Re: [PATCH] Make "git reset" a builtin. (incomplete)

From: David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>
Date: Aug 22, 2007, 22:25 UTC
Message-ID: <85ir77ky0u.fsf@lola.goethe.zz>
In-Reply-To: <alpine.LFD.0.999.0708221252040.30176@woody.linux-foundation.org>

Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> writes:

Show 9 quoted lines

> On Wed, 22 Aug 2007, David Kastrup wrote:
> In contrast, a lot of _scripting_ languages are basically
> write-only. They may be write-only because that's their fundamental
> design (perl), or they may be write-only because they are limited
> enough that you can not easily extend them to do new things.
>
> But your statement is provably wrong. Just *look* at well-maintained
> projects that have extended way past their original design and usage
> model. A lot of them are in C.

You mean like Emacs which is mostly scripted in Elisp? Or the Gimp which is mainly scripted using script-fu? Or like TeX which is (to the surprise of Donald Knuth) usually extended in TeX macros rather than using Pascal? Or HTML servers and content management systems, done in a variety of scripting languages from PHP, Ajax, Plone, whatever? Or Mickysoft applications extended in Visual Basic? Or Autocad extended in Autolisp or what it is called? Or autoconf or sendmail extended in m4 (avaunt!)?

Pretty much _any_ complex extensible system nowadays comes with a scripting/pattern/macro language of choice, and this language is, for a variety of reasons, rarely C.

The question is not whether large complex systems are generally managed in C, since that quite obviously is _not_ the rule. The question is rather whether the environment in which one assembles git plumbing into porcelain should be treated as a large complex system in itself. That certainly is a valid question. If one manages to get past name-calling, one might answer this in one of several ways.

> So why do you make these idiotic arguments that are clearly crap?

Oooooh, I get the reference.  So _that's_ where the name comes from.

    Q:   WHAT DO YOU WANT?
    M:   Well, I was told outside that...
    Q:   Don't give me that, you snotty-faced heap of parrot
         droppings!
    M:   What?
    Q:   Shut your festering gob, you tit! Your type really makes me
         puke, you vacuous, coffee-nosed, maloderous, pervert!!!
    M:   Look, I CAME HERE FOR AN ARGUMENT, I'm not going to just
         stand...!! 
    Q:   OH, oh I'm sorry, but this is abuse.
    M:   Oh, I see, well, that explains it.
    Q:   Ah yes, you want room 12A, Just along the corridor.
    M:   Oh, Thank you very much. Sorry.
    Q:   Not at all.
    M:   Thank You.
    (Under his breath) Stupid git!!

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum