[Tfug] Language choices

[Brian Murphy]

Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have jumped in.

Quoting Bexley Hall <bexley401 at yahoo.com>:
> You missed the point of the example.  They aren't
> modifying the code.  They are creating a script
> that *extends* the device's functionality in ways
> that would be difficult or cumbersome to anticipate.

So, in essence, they are modifying the code.

> E.g., products similar to the example have tried
> to provide some flexibility that ends up being
> terribly *rigid*.  So, customers want "specials"
> designed for them.  Even if the system *had* such
> a scripting ability "available only to developers",
> you end up spending a LOT of time (money) debating
> what features are wanted, how they should operate,
> how exceptions are handled, etc.


This is called "Professional Services."  Buy a tool, like say an
enterprise storage array, and professional services will come out and
set it up to your environment.  In many cases you don't have the option
to decline this service if you want future support.  It's the cost of
working with complicated systems.


> This is something best handled by the customer himself:
>
>   "here's the scripting language;

(but the customer wasn't going to modify the code. ;)

>    do what you
>    want -- the machine will protect itself if
>    you try to do something stewpit.  If you
>    need help debugging *your* scripts, we can
>    have a technician assist you (because our
>    developers are way too busy working on
>    products that can be sold to *several*
>    customers instead of customizing *one*
>    machine for you..."
>
>> Build a macro language that transforms the
>> operator's requirements into the underlying code
>> of your choice.
>
> That was the point of the discussion.  *Picking*
> a suitable language to do this that would be
> amenable to the users' needs -- and capable of
> being implemented within the design criteria of
> the system itself

For super simple, anything like expect.

The next step for non-hackers is any BASIC dialect without line numbers.
  While BASIC may not get a language connoisseur's juices flowing, the
customer doing the modification may have seen BASIC before in school or
MS environments.  Any technical problems fitting BASIC syntax to the
design criteria is what system engineers are for.

Brian

The opinions or statements expressed herein are my own and should not be
taken as a position, opinion, or endorsement of the University of
Arizona.