Dave Parker wrote:
On May 20, 7:05 pm, Collin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Personally, FT is a bit meh to me. The way you issue your statements I
always think something is wrong, mainly because when I want to define,
say, x, in python I'd go:
x = "whatever"
Instantly noting that I defined x. While in Flaming Thunder I'd have to
type:
Set x to "whatever"
It just feels wrong.
Actually, it felt wrong to me when I first started working on Flaming
Thunder because I've been programming for decades and have had all of
the programming idioms burned into my brain.
But after getting input from children and teachers, etc, it started
feeling right.
For example, consider the two statements:
x = 8
x = 10
The reaction from most math teachers (and kids) was "one of those is
wrong because x can't equal 2 different things at the same time".
Many computer languages conflate "equality" with "assignment" and then
go to even more confusing measures to disambiguate them (such as using
== for equality, or := for assignment).
Plus, symbols are more confusing for people to learn about than
words. There are lots of people who are fluent in English, but
dislike math.
So, I opted for a simple, unambiguous, non-mathematical way of
expressing "assignment" which makes sense even to the non-
mathematically inclined:
Set x to 8.
That way, = can be reserved unambiguously and unconfusingly for the
mathematical notion of "equality" -- because it's in their math
classes that people learn what = means:
Set QuadraticEquation to a*x^2 + b*x + c = 0.
Then I guess the elementary school kids will use your FT system while we
will use our naturally burned-in sense of syntax from other
programming languages, eh?
Not saying this as a negative or anything, I'm just saying that most of
us have a habit, and it's not necessarily a bad nor good habit, of doing
things the way most languages have them done. For example, x = 8 is
extremely readable, to, I assume, most of us. Set x to 8, it takes some
time getting used to. Why should we switch to a language that will take
us time to get used and some more time to understand syntax when we
already understand and can efficiently use our current languages?
It's like going to the middle of London and screaming: "HEY GUYS GUESS
WHAT! I JUST INVENTED A NEW LANGUAGE AND IT'S VERY VERY EASY TO LEARN!"
And the people who would try the language would find the way you do
everything is very different from English, or their native language, for
that matter. Best let sleeping dogs lie.
Collin
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