loose methods: Smalltalk asPython

[Jan Theodore Galkowski]

>Guido was opposed to modifying builtin types before Java existed.  It's
>similar to his opposition to dynamic syntax.

Opposition or not, the language definition is there.  Surely Smalltalk's
OO style can be respected.  Smalltalkers have been doing OO in a dynamic
context longer than many.  There are things to learn there.

There are two things here that need to be kept straight, I think.

One is the primacy of builtin types.

The other is placing those builtins at the top of their own object
hierarchy.  Is "int", properly speaking, a descendent of "object"?  No,
it's the root of its own tree.  Smalltalk has "int" as well, as a
*subclass* of Number.  It's primitive.

In any case, as respectful of Mr/Dr van Rossum as I am, simply because
so-and-so says something is bad and therefore it must be true is a
fallacious response.

   -- Jan