python vs c# [way, way, WAY OT]

[Nigel Rowe]

Aahz wrote:

> In article <1gl2qu9.1nj9i2s1yt9erkN%aleaxit at yahoo.com>,
> Alex Martelli <aleaxit at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>Of course, linguistics has long been split between prescriptive and
>>descriptive orientations.  The long-term trend is definitely away from
>>the prescriptive (which centuries ago used to rule supreme) and towards
>>the descriptive (which isn't controversial any more, as soon as you get
>>into the actual professional practice -- peer-reviewed journals, etc).
>>How you "should" express yourself, after all, depends on your purposes;
>>the best a linguist can do is elucidate for you the likely consequences
>>of a stylistic or grammatical choice.  It's not an issue of "who ya
>>gonna call?" being ``better'' or ``worse'' than "whom are you going
>>to contact?"... if you understand the contexts in which either way of
>>expression is going to be clearer, how they're going to affect your
>>audience, and so on, you can _choose_ effectively between them.
> 
> "Contact is not a verb under this roof."

Why not?
  

 Main Entry: 2. con·tact    Pronunciation Guide
 Pronunciation: ", knt-, känt-
 Function: verb
 Inflected Form(s): -ed/-ing/-s
 transitive verb : to bring into contact : enter or be in contact with: a :
to press against : MEET, TOUCH <brake shoes contact the inside diameter of
the drum> : JOIN <where the line of ordinary low water ... directly
contacted the open sea -- U.S.Code> b : to make connection with : get in
communication with : REACH -- used often where the means is not precisely
specified <contact your local dealer> <the salesman contacted a few
prospects> c : to talk or confer with : INTERVIEW : apply to : APPROACH
<the first company you contact may not ... use your services -- W.J.Reilly>
<the department ... was contacted to learn of availability and costs --
R.C.Emery>
intransitive verb : to make contact <the point at which the two surfaces
contact> 

Citation format for this entry:
 "contact." Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged.
Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (5 Oct. 2004).

-- 
        Nigel Rowe
        A pox upon the spammers that make me write my address like..
                rho (snail) swiftdsl (stop) com (stop) au