> From: PackRat > > Another example, the labs contain good information, but > who uses (or WANTS to use) 1970's-ish "educational" display techniques? > Presentation is everything if you want to attract more users. (The > labs should be Powerpoint presentations or something, or some J coding > that produces a similar effect.) Or is there a subconscious desire NOT > to attract more people but to keep J "elite"?
I agree that it would be nice to have a more powerful and attractive interface to the labs. While creating a lab recently, was thinking it would be nice to have something that offered both the interactivity of the session, as well as the ability to use formatting, in-line formulae and images for the accompanying instructional text as is possible in the Wiki. I imagine that creating an application like this wouldn't be all that difficult but it would require that the instructional text was in a separate window (or window control) from the J session. Another approach is to embed a live J session in a web page as has been suggested in the past (see comments on this page http://www.jsoftware.com/jwiki/System/Server ) See also the kdb+ terminal demo alongside the Q for Mortals 2 info. (Usercode & Password are both "anonymous" ) https://code.kx.com/trac/qterm And: http://tryruby.hobix.com/ > I am trying hard in my little part of the world to turn people on to J, > but I have to do all the persuasion myself--the current J environment > won't do it. I'd lose people (and I'm talking NON-mathematicians here-- > in other words, liberal arts folk who might take advantage of some of > the uniqueness and power of J) if I turned them loose in the J world as > it currently exists without extensive preparation. Otherwise, you'd > have a reversal: they'd be persuaded, all right...but to avoid J at all > costs! And that's something that I DON'T want to happen. > > It's why I've attempted (and continue to attempt) to write some very > elementary introductory materials to get non-mathematicians interested > in using J to solve particular problems they have and challenges they > face. The audience I have works with tables (matrices) all the time > and have never realized that there are other, maybe better, ways of > dealing with these than always turning to Excel. Dealing with the > WHOLE array at once is a completely foreign concept to the people I'm > trying to reach, but it has such power to better solve some of the > situations they face. Harvey, How about adding some of your materials to the wiki? Others may find them useful either as they are or as a starting point for creating something else. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
