Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!news.glorb.com!news-out.readnews.com!news-xxxfer.readnews.com!news.misty.com!news.iecc.com!nerds-end From: Johann 'Myrkraverk' Oskarsson Newsgroups: comp.compilers Subject: Re: Have we reached the asymptotic plateau of innovation in programming la Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:15:58 +0000 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 47 Sender: news@iecc.com Approved: comp.compilers@iecc.com Message-ID: <12-06-016@comp.compilers> References: <12-03-019@comp.compilers> <12-03-026@comp.compilers> <12-03-029@comp.compilers> NNTP-Posting-Host: news.iecc.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: leila.iecc.com 1339190669 57409 64.57.183.58 (8 Jun 2012 21:24:29 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@iecc.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2012 21:24:29 +0000 (UTC) Keywords: design, comment Posted-Date: 08 Jun 2012 17:24:29 EDT X-submission-address: compilers@iecc.com X-moderator-address: compilers-request@iecc.com X-FAQ-and-archives: http://compilers.iecc.com Xref: csiph.com comp.compilers:677 Hans Aberg writes: > On 2012/03/12 06:49, glen herrmannsfeldt wrote: > >> As I understand it, Fortran introduced the multi-character variable >> name, pretty much universal in programming languages, but >> mathematicians haven't caught on yet. Mathematicians have an implied operator between symbols. You can't do that with multi character names. Not in a way that can make sense, to me. Operator overloading, if done incorrectly, is a maintenance nightmare so I don't think there will ever be a language with user defined implied operators. %let * be the implied operator Then one could write K = a b + c^2 a k; which would mean K = a * b + c^2 * a * k; where ^ is "to the power of" and +, * the usual mathematical operators. And while I find it easier to read the former, I doubt it'll be universally recieved since slightly later in the program one might encounter %let ^ be the implied operator L = c 2; and L is suddenly c squared. Maybe I'll try a toy language with implied operators one day. -- Johann Oskarsson http://www.2ndquadrant.com/ |[] PostgreSQL Development, 24x7 Support, Training and Services --+-- | Blog: http://my.opera.com/myrkraverk/blog/ [It's been done. Probably before you were born. -John]