[Edu-sig] more re "manga code"...

[kirby urner]

I'm appending a post to another group, lotsa links to Python which I
won't go into here except here's a nice shot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157315@N00/3614960140/
(Zen of Python, alcove office, Linus Pauling House, Portland, Oregon)

My purpose in passing this through to edu-sig is to illustrate this
nomenclature "manga code", which means something similar to "pseudo
code" except that pseudo-code doesn't execute (because it's not a real
language, but a phony one made up to capture the essence).

I'd say there's a twilight zone between pseudo- and manga- in that you
might not need to run source, but if you *did* have time to build the
real machine, you know that it could be run, i.e. a real emulator is
definitely doable (MMX comes to mind, other academic languages).

We've all heard Python referred to as "runnable pseudo-code" but here
I think the opportunity is to drop "pseudo" (keeping it for contrast)
and go with "manga code" in the sense of "cartoon simulation,
fictional but still worth playing".

People have different ways of pronouncing "manga" but that's true for
Python as well (some say Pythun, whereas for others Python rhymes with
thong, me in this latter camp).**

Kirby


** Don't say "mah-no" though, if you mean the Novell product Mono.
That's definitely "moe no" for Monkey.  If you don't get that it's
monkey, you lose half the branding, not to mention you'll sound like a
bloody Anglophone who's had a few too many.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 4:53 PM
Subject: Re: [wwwanderers] some business items
To: Wanderers


Oh wait, I did want to say I volunteered to start building "a Python
data structure" from Glenn's holographic notes (a holograph means
something else in this namespace, check dictionary **).

The data structure I'm thinking of is:

>>> thearchive = [("Title of Tape","Speaker","Date of Talk","number of copies"), (...,), ...]

(the above being actual Python code, manga-code (executing), not
pseudo-code (phony):

>>> thearchive
[('Title of Tape', 'Speaker', 'Date of Talk', 'number of copies'),
(Ellipsis,), Ellipsis]

Now you may think it selfish of me to build the inventory in Python
(and I could use some help) but actually it's quite trivial, once we
have this list, to spit it out as XML, JSON or whatever you consider
"native" in your world.  Spreadsheet?  No problemo.

Kirby

** for those who don't know:  a single word search on Google, if on a
valid word in the language, gets you a dictionary link in the upper
right, give it a try.  I didn't test this feature in Lithuania but I'm
quite sure it'd work great (if Aldona is listening, or Hyzy)

On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 4:44 PM, kirby urner<kirby.urner at gmail.com> wrote:
> So I went back and decorated my proposal with a picture of Glenn
> starting to take inventory this afternoon, gives a sense of the scale
> of the operation:
>
> http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2009/06/taking-inventory.html
>
> A secret of my blogs is that some pictures click through to an actual
> photostream, where I've got a few more like the above, including some
> close ups on titles, feast your eyes.
>
> Anyway, back to work, am not really involved in this project other
> than to photo-document a little, help catalyze a social networking
> exercise maybe, though Glenn didn't think anyone wanting to watch a
> tape solo should be forbidden to do so, and duh we're not going to be
> sending ISEPP police to doors of solo viewers.
>
> However, an electronic filing regarding the contents of said tape,
> attached to your identity somehow, would be nice to get.
>
> We're collecting what Wanderers think about the tapes, not just the tapes.
>
> Given you're the people seeing a lot of these lectures in a very
> literate town with above average connectivity (netness), your thoughts
> actually have some historical interest, is how I'm spinning this (not
> just empty flattery -- Portland was pretty special in our day, no ifs
> ands or buts, Terry's work a big part of that).
>
> Kirby
>