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by seanmcdirmid 4272 days ago
Everyone reads these papers from different perspectives, so it's quite easy to say someone missed something (fair or not).

My criticism is that an analysis of OOP is incomplete if you avoid looking at...objects. It's like saying, we are going to ignore the objects themselves, and just focus on the technical features of the objects to see what the technical advantage of these features are. It is very reductionist...while objects favor a more holistic manner of thinking.
1 comments
glurgh 4272 days ago
We probably (broadly) agree more than disagree. One reason FP/OOP comparisons are difficult is that FP is closely related to a mathematical formalism while OOP isn't and can't be. I think the tack he's taking is 'can we explain the popularity of OOP in terms of "technical" or really, "practical programming/software engineering" advantages'. It's a tricky needle eye to thread.

The objection 'that approach can't lead to useful insight' is a reasonable one but I don't think he's taking the approach out of ignorance or because he spaced out on something while typing it up - it's a deliberate choice, whatever its merits.

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seanmcdirmid 4271 days ago
Ah, I never said he took this approach out of ignorance. I've talked about this with him before, and never found his arguments lacking.

It is nice that something is still going on in OOP.

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