This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Agile Buzz by James Robertson. Original Post: On the complexity front Feed Title: Cincom Smalltalk Blog - Smalltalk with Rants Feed URL: http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/rssBlog/rssBlogView.xml Feed Description: James Robertson comments on Cincom Smalltalk, the Smalltalk development community, and IT trends and issues in general. Latest Agile Buzz Posts Latest Agile Buzz Posts by James Robertson Latest Posts From Cincom Smalltalk Blog - Smalltalk with Rants

Peter Lount addresses the complexity/consistency divide between languages like Smalltalk and (in this case) Perl. Here's a good quote:

Many language designers place too much complexity into their language syntax. Language syntaxes are most often expressed using a version of Backus-Naur Form (BNF). (I heard that PERL's grammar is so complex that it can't be expressed in a BNF or extended BNF (EBNF) and that one of the goals for PERL6 is to simplify so that it can be. Is this true? Please let me know. Thanks.)

Meanwhile, the Java folks continue to drive on the wrong side of the road, asking What features should be added to the Java language. That's it - throw in a few more reserved words to sort it all out...