You could,
Don
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sherlock, Ric" <[email protected]>
To: "Chat forum" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 12:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Jchat] J's Adoption and Usage Rates (was "Language S")
>I could argue that replacing "x" and "y" with "[" and "]" removes the
>trappings of Mathematical notation and is therefore a barrier to
>Mathematics teaching.
>
>> From: Don Watson
>>
>> I agree that this can be done, but it isn't implicit and it adds
>> trappings of Computer Science that are a barrier to Mathematics
>> teaching.
>>
>> Don
>>
>>
>> > sqrsum =: 4 : '%:x + y'
>> > 3 sqrsum 5
>> > 2.82843
>> > 3 + 5
>> > %: 8
>> > %: 8
>> > 2.82843
>> >
>> >
>> > 2009/4/30 Don Watson <[email protected]>
>> >
>> >> Hi Don,
>> >>
>> >> You said:
>> >>
>> >> > Maybe I'm really missing something, but why use "[" and "]" at
>> >> > all?
>> >> > Just use "x" and "y".
>> >>
>> >> That's an interesting question. If I have the J expression:
>> >>
>> >> %:x + y
>> >>
>> >> and want to make a verb sqrsum, I could define a way of doing it
>> -
>> >> that
>> >> doesn't presently exist exactly in this form - such that:
>> >>
>> >> sqrsum =: %:x + y
>> >>
>> >> or that:
>> >>
>> >> sqrsum =: %: [ + ]
>> >>
>> >> and that in either case:
>> >>
>> >> 3 sqrsum 5 is equivalent to: %: 3 + 5
>> >>
>> >> In the second case
>> >>
>> >> 1) I have a form that is full of nothing but verbs.
>> >> 2) I can state that the arguments are defined implicity.
>> >>
>> >> In the first case I need a convention that x and y are special
>> >> nouns used in named verbs with a special purpose. I obviously have
>> >> nouns
>> >> as
>> >> well in this verb definition, and I think it is harder to suggest
>> >> that argument inclusion is implicit.
>> >>
>> >> Don
>
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