Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!news.glorb.com!border1.nntp.dca1.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!news.iecc.com!.POSTED!nerds-end From: "Gerry Rzeppa" Newsgroups: comp.compilers Subject: Fw: A Plain English Compiler Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 04:02:27 -0500 Organization: Compilers Central Lines: 52 Sender: news@iecc.com Approved: comp.compilers@iecc.com Message-ID: <14-10-017@comp.compilers> References: <06-02-122@comp.compilers> <06-02-125@comp.compilers> <14-10-005@comp.compilers> <14-10-008@comp.compilers> <14-10-009@comp.compilers> <14-10-010@comp.compilers> <14-10-015@comp.compilers> NNTP-Posting-Host: news.iecc.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: miucha.iecc.com 1414698794 83715 2001:470:1f07:1126:0:676f:7373:6970 (30 Oct 2014 19:53:14 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@iecc.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 19:53:14 +0000 (UTC) Keywords: design Posted-Date: 30 Oct 2014 15:53:14 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:1402 Hans-Peter Diettrich asks, *who* is the intended writer of a program in that English language? Reply: (1) Experienced programmers like my son and I who like to program in English, and who had a lot of fun writing an integrated development environment -- including an iconoclastic interface, a simplified file manager, an elegant text editor, a hexadecimal dumper, a native-code-generating compiler/linker, and a wysiwyg page layout program for documentation -- in just 25,000 lines of the stuff. (2) Kids who know nothing about programming. Here, for example, is a typical first program we have our padawans type in, a little at a time, when we're teaching them about the subject: To run: Start this baby up. Clear the whole freaking screen. Draw some circles with the red pen. Wait for the escape key. Shut the whole thing down. To draw some circles with a color: Pick a spot anywhere on the screen. Draw a circle on the spot with the color. Refresh the screen. Add 1 to a count. If the count is greater than 12, break. Repeat. At intervals, they use the "Run" command -- which is conveniently placed under the "R" menu -- to see the results. Note that since syntax isn't a major issue, we can concentrate on concepts (sequence, loops, variables, parameters, etc) -- while improving their typing skills and reinforcing what they're learning in their grammar classes! (3) All kinds of students in between. Remember, our entire system is written in Plain English. So the enterprising student who begins with a program like the one above can eventually learn how to write all kinds of programs -- including desktop interfaces, file managers, text editors, dumpers, compilers, page layout programs, and many more -- without ever leaving the simple and familiar Plain English environment. (4) To be determined. We're not sure, at this stage of the game, what other kinds of people will find programming in their native tongue (with snippets of formulas and graphics inserted in appropriate spots) both productive and enjoyable. It depends, we think, primarily on the different kinds of Plain English libraries we can provide (or get others to provide) to support various application areas. Note that it's in the libraries -- not the compiler itself -- that the nouns, verbs, adjectives, and various modes of expression are defined.