JEP 495 Question

[Ron Pressler]

Even conceding the possibility that this is true, the question remains *to what extent* it's true. I think you’ll agree that we’ve made progress toward where you think we should be that is bigger than the remaining delta.

If at some point we learn that the lack of a readlnInt method is a major hurdle to learning Java and that that method is what stands between us and world domination, perhaps we shouldn’t stand on principle and should reconsider. But given that we’ve only recently made an even bigger step, one whose impact we’ve yet to study, I don’t see the urgency in reconsidering the more principled stance at this time. On the matter of beginner-friendliness, I think we have bigger fish to fry than that method.

— Ron

> On 7 Nov 2024, at 20:46, Kenneth Fogel <kfogel at dawsoncollege.qc.ca> wrote:
> 
> I understand your position and ten years ago I would agree with it wholeheartedly but not anymore. I am excited about JEP 445 and how it might bring more students and self learners to Java. Today’s learners want fast results. It is why I believe so many are hooked on Python. I dislike Python because it is an untyped language, but we cannot ignore that:
>  Python: loan = input("Loan: ")
> makes more sense to those starting out than:
> Java: var loan = Double.parseDouble(readln("Loan: "));
>  Both will throw exceptions if you enter “bob” for the value, just at different points in the execution.
>  I feel that any language should evolve not only with new features but in new ways to learn that match how people learn today. I do agree that there can easily be a flood of requests that could probably make Java look like GW-BASIC.
>  Thank you, Brian, for providing the summary of why you and the Java team decided not to have a numeric read. As they say, we will have to agree to disagree.
>  Ken