neonumeric - C++ arbitrary precision arithmetic library

[Avi Gross]

Just to be clear, and luckily the person who posed such boasts is luckily
gone and I AM NOT interested in having the discussion again here, I have a
point to make.

He did not suggest a magical compiler that could translate any language. Not
exactly.

I think he suggested that if all languages share a large set of paradigms
related to what methods we have for computing, then there may be a way to
capture and store some description of any new language that defines it well
enough. He proposed a sort of universal program, indeed, that would read the
description files and then actual programs and generate something that
ultimately would be runnable. Of course, he basically ignored any little
details along the way and even insisted it would be easy and the result
would be much more efficient in every case.

So, I suggest he is not as bright as he thinks.

I, on the other hand, think it is a hard problem but in some abstract sense
doable given infinite resources and time. Translation, not a worthwhile
quest for NOW. There are accepted theorems that suggests a fairly simple
Turing Machine can solve any problem computable on our current (non-quantum)
generation of computers. The programs would be very far from efficient and
in some cases would require an infinitely long tape and more states than our
universe can accommodate. But in principle, it can do anything as stated
above.

So, any program in any language can theoretically be rewritten as a Turing
Machine version. But that would not be done by a universal translator. I
assume you could do it from say a compiled machine language version for some
languages but it would require access to anything modern programs get from
all kinds of libraries out there that extend the program and if it spawns
other processes or has things run in parallel it gets more and more complex.

But why do it at all? 

Sure, translating parts of some programs in one language to another can make
sense. But why a goal to have a sort of Unified Programming Language Theory
other than as an academic exercise?

Having said that, I keep looking at how languages like Python and R grow and
how they keep adding features including many borrowed or imitated from
elsewhere and I conclude you can just put everything imaginable into Python
and the rest become superfluous! Problem solved.

-----Original Message-----
From: Python-list <python-list-bounces+avigross=verizon.net at python.org> On
Behalf Of Bonita Montero
Sent: Saturday, March 6, 2021 2:12 PM
To: python-list at python.org
Subject: Re: neonumeric - C++ arbitrary precision arithmetic library

>> There is no projection.
>> _You_ have megalomania, not me.
>> And there's also no Dunning Kruger effect.
>> You can't assess your capabilites, not me.

> no u

Someone who says that he is capable of writing a compiler that translates
every language has megalomania. No one can do this.

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