|
Yes, I got an edgy feeling from the way he immediately jumped on the "plain English" bandwagon.
However, it's a topic worth discussing, so I'll reply to you and totally deaf him/it (it's not a "her") out.
The problem with the plain-English brigade is that they don't seem to realise three things:
0. Code that reads like English is no help to anyone, because it still has to have syntactical boundaries, which will have to be exponentially more complicated than those of "normal" coding -- e.g. there will still be syntax errors, but they'll be an absolute sh1t to track down, because, well, it reads OK, doesn't it?
1. Being able to read the code like normal language doesn't help you code things, and is in no way a replacement for documentation -- i.e. by the time you've read through seven million lines of code and still haven't found the function that you need, you'll be begging for documentation. It will, however, make developers even lazier, when it comes to writing documentation ("Hey, just RTFC*, you dumbass!")
2. To create a truly effective plain-language interpreter/compiler will take tens of millions of man years -- but most of those man years won't be spent by people who are trying to make a plain-language interpreter/compiler. Classes/Interfaces/libraries/frameworks will be written for other purposes, and can just be imported, so the guys who are involved in plain-language coding development have Really got to learn to play nicely with the other kids, which they Really don't do now.
* "Read The appropriate portion oF the Code")
[edit] fruggin' typos!
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
modified 19-Apr-16 14:48pm.
|
|
|
|
|
I'd agree with you - but most of the problem is that English (and French, German, Spanish, Chinese, ...) are "natural languages" - i.e. they weren't designed but evolved through use; as a result they are spectacularly redundant, inefficient, and imprecise. The exact opposite of what you need for a programming language!
In addition they are for separate functions: natural language conveys meaning between two equal (or roughly equal) intelligence sapients - programming languages are about instructing only, without any sense of the "meaning" of the instructions being imparted.
While you can instruct in a natural language, it takes a huge amount of "code" to get anything done - unless you have already installed the subroutines into the target individual via training (which takes forever!) 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
|
|
|
|
|
Precisely!
The variations that have to be built into the syntax make it a minefield of "incorrect syntax" notices, because how the Hell are you to know when you're going wrong, when you're told "Just do English"?
And, as you say, making it multi-lingual would be a nightmare -- e.g. the Dutch conditional term (the English-language "if") translates to "when", but "when" would used for something else. And there would be millions of such "natural" errors.
And the worst part about English is that, although it seems that there's lots of redundancy, because it has lots of synonyms, each synonym for each word has nuances and/or usages that the other synonyms don't have, and many of those nuances/usages would have to be built into the "plain-English" language, so that'd be another minefield, where you can't know if you're using the right synonym unless you read a couple of million lines of the base code.
Still, our little friend should have realised by now that he's trolling people who know what they're talking about, so I'll quit the thread -- unless, of course, real people find it an interesting or fun thing to talk about.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
modified 19-Apr-16 15:21pm.
|
|
|
|
|
Clapclap won't clap anymore. He's gone for good.
|
|
|
|
|
He'll be back...like a nasty smell.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
|
|
|
|
|
Nope- plain English programming seems like a great idea, if only it could be that simple. Java applications have traditionally been very sensitive to the runtime library versions, and we are finding that .net is heading in this direction, probably the reasoning for the big push away from desktop app development into the web app paradigm.
|
|
|
|
|
We're currently becoming very sensitive to troll versions, probably the reason for the big push to the kickin' boots 
If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. — Lyall Watson
|
|
|
|
|
Trolls suffer from the misapprehension that they've got big balls, so you'll have to take careful aim with the boots.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
|
|
|
|
|
Don't need to aim too carefully with these[^]
If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. — Lyall Watson
|
|
|
|
|
Make that rubber boots, you never know when someones called claptrap.
|
|
|
|
|
Sascha your post makes no sense to me?
modified 19-Apr-16 19:10pm.
|
|
|
|
|
But why not?
It was such a simple 'program', written in good English. You should have eaten that up in no time.
See - this perfectly illustrates one of the reasons the idea is doomed to fail.
|
|
|
|
|
Cool!
What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?
The metaphorical solid rear-end expulsions have impacted the metaphorical motorized bladed rotating air movement mechanism.
Do questions with multiple question marks annoy you???
|
|
|
|
|
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
|
|
|
|
|
Awesome, I always thought why something like this did not exist.
Starting to think people post kid pics in their profiles because that was the last time they were cute - Jeremy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Congrats! ![Jig | [Dance]](https://codeproject.freetls.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/jig.gif)
There are two types of people in this world: those that pronounce GIF with a soft G, and those who do not deserve to speak words, ever.
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks! 
|
|
|
|
|
Congratulations on the achievement
..wait, is that price correct?
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
|
|
|
|
|
Eddy Vluggen wrote: ..wait, is that price correct?
Why? Are you looking for a discount cos you know the author? 
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
|
|
|
|
|
The website says its free; but I'd still take a discount if one is offered
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
|
|
|
|
|
Yeah, but please take this coupon for infinite discount.
Be careful the universe doesn't implode though
|
|
|
|
|
Nice - I'm going to enjoy reading it -- particularly the various principles, I think I might learn a few things!
Marc
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks!
I wouldn't have written this book without you, so thanks for that too.
If you want I can get you a free copy 
|
|
|
|
|
Congrats looks interesting
New version: WinHeist Version 2.2.2 Beta tomorrow (noun): a mystical land where 99% of all human productivity, motivation and achievement is stored.
|
|
|
|
General 
News 
Suggestion 
Question 
Bug 
Answer 
Joke 
Praise 
Rant 
Admin 
Submit an article or tip
