[antlr-interest] IDE Integration

[Jim Idle]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Johannes Luber [mailto:jaluber at gmx.de]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 10:41 AM
> 
> Jim Idle schrieb:
>
> > Sounded good right up until the bit where it said:
> >
> > "Configuration files are Python scripts--use the power of a real
> programming language to solve build problems."
> >
> > Think I'll stick to gmake.
> 
> What is so bad regarding the use of Python? Besides that it is Python.

While I am not at all a fan of Python, that isn't the point here. As soon as you introduce a programming language into the build process, which can be coded to do anything, then you don't have a build configuration tool at all, but a program that builds your product. The description of the tool even seems to encourage this, though some of us might debate whether python is real programming language or not ;-)

This means that anyone can put in just about any undocumented code they like in the build process and it becomes unmanageable faster than you can say "whitespace/indent sensitive languages don't make sense". This is precisely because nobody will use configuration rules properly or perhaps at all if they can just hack in a piece of code instead. Ironically, the only justification for Python being indent sensitive is that programmers won't otherwise obey formatting 'rules'.

> >
> > Jim Idle (Quietly petitioning Eric to withdraw permission for the use
> of the name).
> 
> Which Eric? And what name?

Python refers to Monty Python, which is really an English language thing. Perhaps this is because it was really meant as a joke? I doubt that Eric has ever heard of it though, or that he would care if he had (unless there was any money in it.) So, that last line was all getting a bit too silly really and should be stopped right now.

Enough - this is a forum about parsing and stuff :-)

Jim