> "G3: Dangerous [things] should be impossible to program by accident" is pretty bogus, and even if I give it the benefit of the doubt, it's poorly phrased.
The paper actually says, "Dangerous things should be difficult to do by accident" [1]. I don't mean to nitpick, but in this context I think the difference between "difficult" and "impossible" is significant.
Update: I just realized that Shutt's dissertation and the R-1RK are distinct, but the quote is consistent across them.
That difference is significant too, but I'm specifically talking about the difference between trying to make something difficult and neglecting to make it easy. I pick a tool in the first place because it lets me do things more easily.
...Oh, I misquoted it. XD Yeah, thanks for catching that.
Another thing I missed was finishing the efficiency sentence. I was going to devote another paragraph to criticizing the efficiency-should-only-arise-naturally rule for being hypocritical--that an eye to efficiency influences and probably compromises other aspects of the design from the outset--but I determined I actually agree with that rule for Kernel. I think efficiency of fexprs is one of the most significant things Kernel stands to prove, so I don't mind an explicit and upfront goal of efficiency, but efficiency isn't in itself a goal motivating Kernel (I think), so it's good for the rule to be nuanced a bit. (Had I completed the sentence, it would have covered some part of that, but I'm not sure which. XD )
