Path: csiph.com!x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net!usenet.pasdenom.info!news.dougwise.org!nntpfeed.proxad.net!proxad.net!feeder1-2.proxad.net!usenet-fr.net!de-l.enfer-du-nord.net!feeder1.enfer-du-nord.net!feeds.phibee-telecom.net!talisker.lacave.net!lacave.net!not-for-mail From: Mike Stephens Newsgroups: comp.lang.ruby Subject: Re: Lambda Shambda Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:27:13 -0500 Organization: Service de news de lacave.net Lines: 44 Message-ID: <479235104e42a1b264cff160ea29ef51@ruby-forum.com> References: <3ab1912e670b08219714322dad0a1ebe@ruby-forum.com> <20110330143723.GA75718@guilt.hydra> NNTP-Posting-Host: bristol.highgroove.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: talisker.lacave.net 1301506067 6596 65.111.164.187 (30 Mar 2011 17:27:47 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@lacave.net NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:27:47 +0000 (UTC) In-Reply-To: X-Received-From: This message has been automatically forwarded from the ruby-talk mailing list by a gateway at comp.lang.ruby. If it is SPAM, it did not originate at comp.lang.ruby. Please report the original sender, and not us. Thanks! For more details about this gateway, please visit: http://blog.grayproductions.net/categories/the_gateway X-Mail-Count: 380622 X-Ml-Name: ruby-talk X-Rubymirror: Yes X-Ruby-Talk: <479235104e42a1b264cff160ea29ef51@ruby-forum.com> Xref: x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net comp.lang.ruby:1979 >> Are you saying that you're creating some kind of stand-alone variant of >> VBA? Unfortunately most people think the words 'Excel' and 'programming' must equal VBA. I spent a lot on a book called Professional Excel Development which hardly mentions Excel itself. I think however in ome circumstances VBA functions may have to be used eg to call realistic SOAP services. The key is to keep them as functions ie no calling and waiting. They should look exactly like in-built functions. Also the accomplished S# programmer only uses them as a last resort. >> it's three metric tons of VM-like overhead but seems to load faster than Ruby > I believe he means that Excel is a processor for dependent formulas > which, by virtue of update event propagation, gives you instantaneous > value updates in all relevant places. Succinctly put >> Maybe you'd like working with a database management system that offers >> some kind of stored procedures or triggered functions capabilities more. Your remark is highly relevant. Tedd Codd deliberately designed the relational model to eliminate the requirement to describe process. SQL is a very powerful functional programming system. Stored procedures however are usually...procedural. >> Excel is to DBMSes as those old Power Wheels toys are to actual cars, >> after all. I suspect you can do a lot of real world 'database' processing in Excel -just like some folks use ActiveRecord (no - don't start me off on ORMs...). On that basis, I guess a simple web site could use a lot of functional programming functions without resorting to DBMS facilties. As I said earlier, one of the attractions is you have to think differently. -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.