[Zope-dev] Plain Ice Cream

Chris Withers chrisw@nipltd.com
Mon, 23 Oct 2000 10:54:26 +0100


Michel Pelletier wrote:

> > Python Function is not quite right, as it is fairly common (for me, at
> > least) to define some helper functions in a Python Method.  But it is
> > better than Python Script.

That's a good point I hadn't thought of :-S

> Function is just as technical as method.  These are OO techncial
> programming terms (function less than method).  The idea is to lower the
> bar for people using Zope.  People who only know HTML will be much more
> likely to grok what a script is than a method.  We want to avoid
> elitism.  Method is total OO elitism, function less so because it's very
> language neutral, and script is like plain vanilla ice cream, everyone
> gets it.

No offence, but I don't think any of the above paragraph holds any
weight.
People who only know HTML won't be writing Python(Method/Function/etc)s
anyway.
I don't think any out of 'script', 'method' or 'function' will have more
meaning than any of the others to these people.
These are just words we're talking about, to the non-technical, it's not
actually going to matter what they are. The main point is to avoid
confusion, especially where words have associated meaning for technical
people. That, IIUC, is why this discussion started in the first place...

> Like chocolate and coconut-shaving covered almonds, technical details
> mixed in with your ice-cream will appeal only to a smaller crowd. 

Vanilla Ice cream gets boring quickly! This ain't a good metaphor for
your argument ;-)

> The new DC documentation motto is "Explain key ideas in simple terms."
> Method is not a simple term.

Can you please make sure this doesn't become 'use less
meaningful/incorrect vocabulary in an attempt to keep it simple, and so
ending up with even more confusing terminology' ;-)

cheers,

Chris