[Edu-sig] Natural Language Programming

[Dethe Elza]

When I tackled Synergetics I wished that Bucky was able to
express his ideas in software, because they could be made
so much more expressive and accessible.  He was 
describing some seriously dynamic systems, and the line
drawings and text can only convey so much.  I think some of
the reasons he had to invent so much of the language he used
are: 1) As you described, an effort to define precise terms, 
2) Inability to *show* the dynamic systems, and 3) his own
ego.

Part of what I like about your work (and Struck, etc.) is that
the dynamic aspects of Synergetics are finally being modelled
and illustrated as they should be, which make his ideas 
available to those who aren't willing to struggle through his
weighty tomes (I was one of only two people who checked  
out Nine Chains to the Moon from my university library--the
other was a professor who was as difficult to understand, in
his own way, as Bucky).

Python also appeals to me in the way it makes programming 
more accessible.  It's still not *easy* by any stretch of the 
imagination--even with Python's simplicity I find myself 
reaching for the reference books quite a bit--but it is a big 
improvement over other programming languages/environments
I've worked with (C/C++/Java/Pascal/Awk/Perl/JavaScript/Prolog), 
enough of improvement that I could imagine teaching it to a 
"normal" (non-computer-geek) person.  There is still room 
for improvement, of course, especially in the proliferation of
GUI tools, but I can at least imagine it.  I may have the 
opportunity to test out my theory soon, as I'm going to try
expanding the continuing-ed course on XML I teach at UBC, 
both to other area universities and colleges, and into a series
which includes Python.  Programming for the Fun of It needs 
some reality checks which only students can provide.

Thanks for the thought-provoking work.

--Dethe

p.s., how is Red Mars?  I just finished reading Antarctica, by
the same author, and was very impressed.  It was among the
better science fiction, the kind which changes the way you 
look at the real and present world.