Being able to read & 'hear' a new-language is much cheaper than to speak & write new-languages.
-- That's why 90% of the population followed Micro$oft: Once the initial effort investment was done, they couldn't afford new costs; and a F/B-like wave of unoriginal thinkers was spawned.
-- It seems that Haskell is an astounding computer-language/tool. But can we afford to rearrange-brain-neurons AGAIN ?! Computer [and natural] languages' syntax are mostly just ad-hoc, waste of effort. That's why menu-based utilities are so efficient: you just 'recognise', instead of needing to *remember* details. Also syntax-coloring-editors save wasted learning effort.
-- The unix-family provides tools for those who want to be free from following-the-herd. `wily` was spawned from the original designers of unix, after they progressed from unix to plan9 - which I can't 'afford'.
-- Since my brain-neurons were already rearranged for Oberon [which influenced plan9], wily is very efficient for me.
-- Yesterday, I built & tested *this* for a minimal-PASCAL [recursive descent compatible language]. Oberon/wily don't: write & read messsages to the little-man-in-the-box. You watch the screen and control the system via the 3-button-mouse. So the sample code below is not typed in: it's just kluxed on the screen.
Imagine 'evolving' a program in the language: HUMAN you klux: HUMAN and you see: MODULE name; body ; 4-limbs ; head END name.
You don't need to remember the ad-hoc spelling & punctuation. then you klux: body see: MODULE name; respiritorySystem; digestiveSystem; circulatorySystem; 4-limbs ; head END name. BTW, I'm just making this up, while I write. But below is the actual code, and results for . The trick is that wily `executes the sed-in-place/one-line-script` which replaces/[expands] eg: body by/[into]: respiritorySystem; digestiveSystem; circulatorySystem; ==================== OK, I can't see how to replace live-on-the-screen "body", with the . Oberon could do that. But I just need 2 klux, after each , to
- delete-from-screen: the old version;
- display updated version. == Next post gives the 4 [so far] 1-linescripts [which get extra line: cat SIP], to run in console-mode [no X], where you just paste "body" from your latest expansion, to execute "./body"....etc. == Chris Glur. Computing is not about computers; it's about human cognition.