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Ask HN: Why is data simpler than syntax?

3 points by boxbag ↗ HN
Hi, I recently watched this talk (https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Simple-Made-Easy) by Rich Hickey and I think he makes a convincing case for differentiating easy and simple. One thing that I struggled with during the talk was with the lack of examples.

One in particular is data being simpler than syntax. Are there any resources online that explain this idea in more depth?

1 comment

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paulriddle
To me it feels like apples to oranges comparison. I watched this talk on strangeloop a long time ago, and a version of this talk given on RailsConf recently (watched recently, not given).

Here's what I see on the page:

> Complex constructs: State, Object, Methods, Syntax, Inheritance, Switch/matching, Vars, Imperative loops, Actors, ORM, Conditionals.

> Simple constructs: Values, Functions, Namespaces, Data, Polymorphism, Managed refs, Set functions, Queues, Declarative data manipulation, Rules, Consistency.

And to dig deeper, it makes sense to search for "why state is bad", "why inheritance is harmful", "avoid conditionals", etc., and read whatever you find interesting.

Go has particularly simple syntax. Here's a talk by Rob Pike about simplicity, syntax, and language feature you might find interesting https://youtu.be/rFejpH_tAHM