(To the extent that anyone but a Prolog programmer can understand X totally. (And to the extent that a Prolog programmer can understand 'cut'. :-))
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Wall jokes that only Prolog programmers truly grasp X, and only they understand 'cut'.
- In plain terms
- Only Prolog users fully get X and the cut operator.
- What can you take from it?
- Specialized knowledge can be opaque to outsiders.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How can we make specialized concepts more accessible?
Another view
May discourage newcomers from learning the language.
More from Larry Wall
Not that I'm against sneaking some notions into people's heads upon occasion. (Or blasting them in outright.)
Permalink to quote #148 Wow, I'm being shot at from both sides. That means I *must* be right. :-)
Permalink to quote #150 I was trying not to mention backtracking. Which, of course, means that yours is 'righter' than mine, in a theoretical sense.
Permalink to quote #147
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