SPUG: WolframAlpha - a great GUI and API for computing everyday knowledge

[Michael R. Wolf]

On Mar 4, 2010, at 5:45 PM, Dave Olszewski wrote:

> I saw this article last year which puts to words nicely the issues you
> and I seem to have with it:
>
> http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com/2009/07/wolfram-alpha-and-hubristic-user.html
>
> "The apps are useful and fine and good. The natural-language UI is a
> monstrous encumbrance, which needs to be taken out back and shot. It
> won't be."
>
>    Dave

I think it goes to language design.  Here's a decades-old quote that  
goes to the heart of it (and the heart of why Perl6 takes as long as  
it does)

     When someone says
       "I want a programming language in which
        I need only say what I wish done", give him a lollipop.
   -- Alan Perlis

-- 
Michael R. Wolf
     All mammals learn by playing!
         MichaelRWolf at att.net