When I saw earlier posts about typed properties, I didn't pay much attention. Since typed languages are a Generally Good Thing, adding typed properties to NAnt sounded like a good thing too. Now, after my run in with the assembly/assemblyname beast, I'm not so sure.
The typing mechanism in typed languages carries a _lot_ of baggage: type hierarchies, implicit/explicit type conversion, type incompatibilities, and so on. On the other hand, scripting languages such as shell scripts, Perl, and the original NAnt don't have types. Instead, everything tends to be passed around as a string and interpreted as something else (e.g., "123" is really an integer) based on context. It is this lack of explicit typing that makes scripting languages so easy to use (at least for simplier work). I worry that if NAnt were to add typing, instead of that being one step forward, it might be one step over the edge of a cliff. Take a look at the assembly::* and assemblyname::* functions. While load-from-file() represents a true action, all of the others basically extract string information (or could be defined to extract string information) from an assembly (e.g., name, full name, version, URI, URL, etc.) What usefulness does all of this typing baggage bring to those functions? Talking in vague generalities about all of the "power" of the notation is beside the point. For what NAnt users need _now_, what does that typing add other than total confusion? I would agrue that we need to consolidate typeless, string-oriented NAnt for now, and only move into the power (and complexities) of a typed system later. If nothing else, a typed system is going to require one _heck_ of a lot more documentation than a half line of text after each function name. Merrill ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: IT Product Guide on ITManagersJournal Use IT products in your business? Tell us what you think of them. Give us Your Opinions, Get Free ThinkGeek Gift Certificates! Click to find out more http://productguide.itmanagersjournal.com/guidepromo.tmpl _______________________________________________ Nant-users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nant-users
