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0 pointsrattray11y ago0 comments

(I regularly downvote comments that are negative, and leave comments explaining why I found the comment to be negative).

I actually don't think this was an unfair phrasing. I had actually felt insulted when `go generate` was announced. "You're sweeping [generics et al] under the rug using comment-bound directives and telling me it's an elegant solution to problems? Do you think I'm an idiot?" Was, in fact, very close to what went on in my head when I read that initial post/slideshow.

I don't like to be degrading when it comes to differing opinions on coding practices - if generated code and comment-bound directives are good for you, well, okay - but being told that I should like it and stop questioning? That's insulting.

I think the deeper complaint that's coming through is not that the Go team are bad language designers who don't care about the developer experience, but that they are condescending towards the community. Even if you really, really don't mean to be.

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j1436go11y ago· 1 in thread

Well, I get quite the opposite impression of condescending with them hanging around HN and golang nuts discussing language issues. And I'm actually fine with them making the decisions in the end. Go wouldnt be as clear and productive as it is today if every request for a feature would find it's way into the language in some half-hearted manner.

rudolf011y ago

Isn't comment-driven code generation kind of the definition of a "feature request implemented in a half-hearted manner"? People asked for generics and got this. It seems like the kind of suggestion most language designers would throw out as unelegant.

If the language is so conservative as people claim, it should have neither macros/generics nor any of these pseudo-macro-generic-y half-measures.

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