Re: Do you believe that the Plain English language is better than Ruby language?

Peter Hickman <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.comp.lang.ruby.general
Message-ID <CALxYQy63BAbEEeuH6ersDGaPDx_0uRhhMVKMWmhkEwE04ugEXw@mail.gmail.com>
> we allow the programmer to precisely yet flexibly define whatever subset
of English he deems suitable for his application and circumstances

The advantage of Ruby is that Set has a precise meaning that we all
understand even if we disagree as to what it should really be called

Array or list or vector. Hash or dictionary or associative array. Ruby
picks a term and defines it's behaviour, learn it and you can understand
anyones code. The cognitive load is lessened

APL was a programming language that was basically hieroglyphics and somehow
we could write programs that strangers could understand without ambiguity

As a programmer I don't want ambiguity. I don't want someone calling
something a Set when it is really a MultiSet. Array and vector are
different things to me but other programmers may not see the difference or
may not see them the same way that I do

To me list and array are synonymous but to others one is fixed length the
other extendable (but to me neither would be a vector)

Ruby defines that the term is array and that it is extensible. Like it or
lump it. But at least we all (Ruby programmers) have the same
understanding. I don't have to define Set or Array nor do I need to explain
them to anyone

Precision, lack of ambiguity and behaviour writ in stone

What are you offering?


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