Is Transcript's English orientation a plus or minus?

[Rob Cozens]

>I wish xTalk had some ADDITIONAL constructs that made it more 
>accessible to computer scientists and professional programmers. 
>Both because without them xTalk look amateurish, and therefore less 
>likely to be used by professionals, and because it would make it 
>significantly easier to port code from other languages to xTalk.
>
>It's that simple.  This isn't an either or proposition.  Adding 
>support for "x = 1" would have no impact on the RR IDE.

Good morning, Frank,

Two points:

* I think any knowledgeable computer scientist and professional 
programmer looking to adopt a new platform should personally check 
out the relative capabilities of the platform to assure themselves 
they are getting the tool they need to do the job they want to do. 
Capabilities are more important than syntax, and those who wish to 
believe the negative portrait the press has painted of HyperCard 
without checking for themselves are the losers.

* As someone else mentioned, "x = 1" already has meaning in xTalk: it 
is true if x is 1 and false if x is some other value.  And how does 
"x=1" help anyone who hasn't previously used C?  Maybe it should be 
"x := 1" for Pascal programmers; or how about "x = 1;" for PL/1 
programmers?

Anyway, the issue is one of opinion, and yours is as good or better 
than this foole's.  Still, my opinion is HyperTalk, & all xTalks by 
extension, have received invalid criticism by reviewers that don't 
have a clue as to its power and capabilities, and potential users who 
buy into that criticism without checking for themselves are doing 
themselves a disservice.
-- 

Rob Cozens
CCW, Serendipity Software Company
http://www.oenolog.net/who.htm

"And I, which was two fooles, do so grow three;
Who are a little wise, the best fooles bee."

from "The Triple Foole" by John Donne (1572-1631)