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Re: Notebook that auto-executes when opened?

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg97487] Re: Notebook that auto-executes when opened?
  • From: AES <siegman at stanford.edu>
  • Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 05:38:01 -0500 (EST)
  • Organization: Stanford University
  • References: <gpdaec$jsv$1@smc.vnet.net>

> >On Mar 11, 4:25 am, Bill Rowe <readn... at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> >>Mathematica is far more than the typical application that contains
> >>similar warning messages. Mathematica can be viewed as being a
> >>general purpose programming language. In this regard it is no more
> >>appropriate to put "Are you sure?" warnings in Mathematica than say
> >>a C/C++ compiler. As is the case with a C/C++ compiler, the
> >>assumption is the user knows what he is doing with commands such as
> >>DeleteFile.

> and subsequently he wrote:

> But this doesn't change the fact Mathematica implements a
> programming language which while being heavily orientated to
> mathematics is general purpose. As such, the user is expected to
> know what they are doing and "Are you sure?" warnings are not appropriate.

Many other users seem to find that warnings like this have "saved their 
bacon" on more than one occasion, and many, many other high-quality 
software products seem to contain such warnings.

Would you really say that the "InitializationCellWarning" dialog (and 
the option to turn it on or off), and any other warnings like it, should 
never have been put into Mathematica to start with?

(Not even into the $295 Mathematica Home Edition?)


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