My use of J is similar to Fraser's! Kip Murray
On Tue, 18 Dec 2007, Fraser Jackson wrote: Chris Burke wrote: > I am in two minds as to whether anything is required here. However, I do > think that delete all temporary files would be the more useful option, as > rarely do I want to delete a specific temporary file. After a bit, the temp > directory is filled with junk, and you just want to clean the whole thing > up. > > Anyway, I put a File|Delete Temporary Files menu item in the latest scripts, > and we can see if it turns out to be useful. For me, the temp file is a convenient immediately accessible file which has lots of small, often one off tasks or snippets which I may want to refer back to. I normally write a first line which provides me enough detail about the task for later reference. If I begin to use material in a script more frequently I save it with a name but in the temp directory. As an aide memoir I have a utility, firstline'' which displays the file name and firstline for all scripts in temp as default, but works for any directory. I think the J environment has been developed with a primary focus on programming and system development, not on its use as an interactive working environment. The project manager is great for managing a system development project, but is not oriented towards a data analysis project, which is the sort of thing I am commonly engaged in. For that, having the simple accessible system provided by storing and accessing stuff in \temp is invaluable. Some stuff stays there quite long term. Other bits get embedded in a system, or at the end of a project get filed away as a record of what was done. Having the ability to flexibly modify the current folder used for such a \temp storage location would be a useful enhancement. In the dbeta Edit\Configure\Folders enables setting ~user, but that is not the default directory for \temp. Temp provides a simple default filing system within which there is a sequential record of the scripts created and used. As such it is extremely useful. In such an environment, a single file deletion is fine, but erasing the whole record of such activities could be very costly. Essentially I want you to think seriously about the needs of users who are not primarily programmers, who have complex data analysis tasks where the tree of steps they take evolves as they expand their understanding of the problem, and where a record of the sequence of their steps is important to them. For them the present Temp file mechanism is a flexible and valuable tool. Erasing everything in it is the last thing one is interested in. If we really want to expand the user base of J we need to address the needs of such users and not create simple routes to dangerous actions. Fraser ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm Kip Murray [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.math.uh.edu/~km ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
