[Norman Ramsey's awk script...]
Really, this script is not so hard to understand is it?
yes, it is. really. it just reads as line noise to me. for example,
the variable 'uses' is not defined anywhere. nor is 'defns'.
what exactly is it trying to iterate over and where does the
data come from? this is all probably apparent to a sed/awk/shell
programmer but the point of literate programming is to make it
apparent to those people who need to maintain it. if i can't
understand it without learning 3 new languages then the next
person who needs to maintain it might not understand it either.
Even if I think that we actually don't need the awk script, I very much
agree with Tim in the sense that code pieces should be explained in such
a way that also people that have no or little experience in that
particular language have a chance to understand the code. Yes, it also
means to explain, why it is not necessary to initialize/declare 'uses'
and 'defn' before using these variables.
For me, literate programming also means: make it easier for people who
come after you.
Ralf
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