3) I am thinking Arthur Whitney's K might help to some extend define a more reduced J core. J Dictionary does defines a J core, but maybe things could be reduced some more to get one going quicker. See http://kparc.com/document/k.txt
4) I am willing to, but a bit later. 5) I'll note those cases and bring to our attention. > > 3) I am not the first to mention this. I wish there was a minimal J > > language core documented/available. I see veterans on this forum saying > > things like: "I almost never use some of those verbs". Is there not a > > minimal J language core targeting general language use? For example, > > leaving out specifics like numerical analysis, statistics, etc. This > > might help some not drop by the way side. E.g. http://xprogramming > > .com/category/j-language/ > > In my experience, we typically focus on a small subset of J's > vocabulary, but the subset we use depends on our application, and how > we approach our problems. > > In other words, I think that there's a good variety of "minimal Js" > each probably with its own audience and context. > > For example, many programming language have a if/then construct. J > provides these keywords, but it's worth noticing that the pattern here > is a data driven operation where we choose between executing some bit > of code "0 times or 1 time". Meanwhile, J's * is a "times operator". > So in some contexts 0 * n or 1 * n can be used to achieve the same > end. (J offers a few other options, also.) It's rare for any program > to need more than one or two of these mechanisms. (I choose this > example because there's almost nothing about the description that's > specific to J, but many other languages have enough distracting issues > that you might not have noticed the pattern.) > > > 4) Whenever it felt like dropping, browsing through papers like "Notation > > as a tool of thought" or "Language as an intellectual tool: From > > hieroglyphics to APL" helped boost my motivation to stay the course. > Maybe > > creating a "Why learn J" section on J site where this kind of papers, > > articles, etc. are referenced would help many. > > Do you feel motivated to help write such a thing? > > > 5) English is not my native language. With the Internet, anything posted > > online in English has automatically a global audience. Maybe keeping that > > in mind and going easier on un-common/literary English words would help J > > adoption some more? It's a pity APL language family are not > > more mainstream. I think our profession has much to lose because of the > > current state of things. > > If you have the energy to detail problem cases you recognize in the > introductory or reference works, maybe we can think of better ways to > present the important ideas? > > Thanks, > > -- > Raul > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
