> How about:
> 
> #local MyOb = difference {
>   sphere { 0, 1 translate y*2 rotate z*45 translate <2,3,4> }
>   object { Some Other Object }
> }
> 
> MyOb.subtrahend.transforms[1].addrotate(<0, 0, 15>);
> MyOb.subtrahend.transforms[0] *= <1,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,5,0,1>
> 
> which would end up *everywhere*. And the small minority who do 
> understand it would be "responsible" for supporting this feature in the 
> newsgroups.

If a small minority creates obfuscated code, it won't end up everywhere,
because it's a... mhhh... minority.  Besides, community spirit will
lead many people to take care of writing simple and clear code.  Also,
currently, there are already some complicated macros out there,
which few are able to fully understand, you can't always avoid
complexity.  Finally, in many situations, re-using someone's code
doesn't imply fully understanding it (I'm not able to understand a
fractal tree macro everyday, but I can use it everytime).

> "I did it without 3rd party apps!" only impresses within this community 
> and isn't going to get POV-Ray by for another 15 years. New users, drawn 
> by capabilities they can put to use without a comp-sci degree, are what 
> will guarantee POV's future.

Doing things without 3rd party apps is not a matter of looking smart.
It's a matter of convenience when it can be done.

Let's stay with the example of subdivision surfaces (or any other
automated process for meshes).

I model something in Wings3D.  Then I export it to POV-Ray.  Suddenly,
I think, oh, I would need one more subdivision level for my object
to look smooth !  If it's done within POV-Ray, there's just a parameter
to change.  If not (as currently), I have to go back to Wings, do the
subdivision, and re-export !

Still skeptic ?

Let's talk about displacement mapping.  The thing that can transform
a cylinder into a screw in no time.  If it's external, I have to freeze
the model to a certain scale and depth of displacement, and the 
resulting mesh will be huge and will take time to read into POV.
If I can do it internally, changing displacement parameters would
be a snap, and much less time will be needed to process (everything
would happen in fast memory).

Many examples of such added flexibility could be found...

Fabien.

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