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About this quote

What does it mean?
Prototypes are likened to a markup language where rendering engines decide the meaning.
In plain terms
Prototypes are like markup; the engine interprets them.
What can you take from it?
Design flexible systems that let downstream components define behavior.

Where it applies

  • software architecture
  • UI design

Putting it to work

  • define clear interfaces
  • allow extensibility

Questions to consider

  • How much freedom should an engine have?
  • When to lock down semantics?

Another view

Too much flexibility can lead to inconsistent implementations.

More from Larry Wall

  1. For the sake of argument I'll ignore all your fighting words.

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  2. The way these things go, there are probably 6 or 8 kludgey ways to do it, and a better way that involves rethinking something that hasn't been rethunk yet.

    Permalink to quote #160
  3. People who understand context would be steamed to have someone else dictating how they can call it.

    Permalink to quote #157

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