Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
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Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
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Re: Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
#2Meh
Notation in any field is a barrier to entry. See programmers takes on both math and music notation that are often posted here.
The thing about notation that people sometimes don't think about is that it's used by many different types of people. Some things that would be convenient when notated implicitly make thinking about other things difficult.
Re: Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
#3> Adopting standard notations across the field could offer huge benefits
They skipped the related xkcd.
Re: Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
#4>But at its worst, PL notation obfuscates: a page of symbols is an opaque barrier to entry.
The assumption here is that this is a bad thing. But there's a reason we have doors, gates, locks and so on -- other "barriers to entry".
Re: Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
#5While the notation may definitely be a barrier, I believe that the biggest hurdle for most people is the logic required for formal languages and context free grammar. It is very unlikely that many will have much experience writing mathematical proofs, which is what these language definitions turn into, and is much different than working with prose.
Re: Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
#6> But at its worst, PL notation obfuscates: a page of symbols is an opaque barrier to entry. The assumption here is that this is a bad thing. But there's a reason we have doors, gates, locks and so on -- other "barriers to entry".
> But there's a reason we have doors, gates, locks and so on -- other "barriers to entry"
Yes, because we don't want people to get into our house.
Are you seriously suggesting a world where we want to make it harder for people to understand programming language literature?
Re: Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
#7> Adopting standard notations across the field could offer huge benefits They skipped the related xkcd. https://xkcd.com/927/
Ironically the only thing that is ever standard about standards is that the same XKCD comic will always be brought up
Re: Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
#8I suppose that one advantage of notation is that it isn't language specific, but I don't know how much of an issue that actually is. If you're non English speaking and trying to read a paper written in English, you're going to need to be able to understand the word "cast" in the text, so it probably doesn't matter if you use the same word in the notation.
Re: Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
#9> Adopting standard notations across the field could offer huge benefits They skipped the related xkcd. https://xkcd.com/927/
wow, you got downvoted pretty hard & fast. tried to help coutneract because while that joke is played out - there's a reason that joke is played out.
Re: Programming language notation is a barrier to entry
#10Meh Notation in any field is a barrier to entry. See programmers takes on both math and music notation that are often posted here. The thing about notation that people sometimes don't think about is that it's used by many different types of people. Some things that would be convenient when notated implicitly make thinking about other things difficult.
And just like programming, there are versions of those with easier notation to ease entry.
Anyone remember all the different ways music was represented as they grew up? What about guitar tabs? I remember simplified math as a kid.
I think this hits on the right approach, which already exists: different languages with different complexity levels for notation.