The variables +, -, *, and /

[Robert W. Kerns <RWK@SCRC-YUKON.ARPA>]

    Date: Sat, 7 Dec 1985  10:18 EST
    From: "Scott E. Fahlman" <Fahlman@C.CS.CMU.EDU>
    I guess I would be surprised.  Most of the grad students I've known
    around CMU and MIT either go in and completely master their tools or
    else they find out what they need and master that part.  But maybe these
    places are atypical.  I grant you that some undergrads try to slide by
    with the minimum competence needed to pass, but are we really designing
    a language for those guys?
Maybe the difference between grad students and us drop-outs
is that us drop-outs always read the whole manual and learn
our tools, instead of going to class?

Anyway, for the sake of students trying to do their thesis
in two weeks,  I suggest we put somewhere prominent a list of
facilities of interest to people imbedding languages.  Anyone
THEN not willing to read the little material involved doesn't
deserve a degree.  (I read it ALL immediately, can I get a
degree?)

I'm not arguing against other proposals to make it easier to use.
But maybe we could make it a bit easier for the guy in a rush
who only wants to learn about what he needs.  Probably most
people are in that situation when they start out using something
new, even if they aren't by the time they're done.  We just tend
to forget the feeling once we become expert.