Re: OT - Programming Languages w/o English Syntax
On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 at 19:01 GMT, Ron Johnson penned:
> On Fri, 2003-10-17 at 12:29, Monique Y. Herman wrote:
>> You're right; the anglo-centric nature of most programming languages
>> is distressing. It would be fun to code in a language based on a
>> totally
>
> Distressing???????? What an over-reaction.
>
> Guess what? When French/German/Chinese/Spanish/Portuguese/Japanese
> Computer Scientists decide to write a programming language in their
> own native language, there will be programming languages in those
> languages. But then, why did Niklaus Wirth use English key words,
> even though he is Swiss/German?
>
Distressing was the wrong word. I personally find variety interesting,
and using a language with a different natural-language origin would be
entertaining. Then again, I'm pretty good with languages, so I might be
in the minority there.
Of course you're right that languages based on various natural languages
will exist when people write them. That's a tautology. I was mourning
the fact that it seemingly hasn't happened. Maybe if I had half a clue
about what my ideal programming language would contain, I'd go about
writing one with non-English keywords, just to entertain myself.
On a personal level, I find "local color" interesting, and the
ever-more-prevalent assumption that everyone can or should speak English
saddens me, for the same reason that it saddens me when a Walmart or a
Starbucks puts a local storefront out of business.
So, in the spirit of "think globally, act locally," I try not to assume
that everyone speaks English, and I try to buy stuff from friendly,
helpful local stores rather than saving five bucks by buying from
Walmart.
Allllllrighty, I think I've veered far enough off-topic.
--
monique
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