Couldn't it be that J is used by mathematical programmers because it's
touted as a mathematical language?
Most of the population of the US considers math 'too hard' and will not
touch anything tainted by it. I think programmers (in the US) by and
large share this tendency.
And I disagree that people doing non-math will use non-J. I use J for
simulations, games, and pretty much everything where I get to choose the
language. I use it for the productivity, not the mathiness.
In fact, I've never been able to use J to do real math, that is, to
prove theorems. It's a notation of computation, not a notation of
mathematics. A tool of thought, not a tool of proof. I can use J to
help with understanding a problem, but I don't have a big enough set of
identities to make it valuable in proof.
J is especially good for math people, but it's not caviar to the
general. Un-mathy highschool students can be writing useful J programs
in a few days - much faster than with Java.
Henry Rich
On 1/23/2022 1:04 PM, Michail L. Liarmakopoulos wrote:
Hello,
Personally I think that while J is a general purpose language, it surely
attracts more mathematically oriented programmers.
Also I think the definition Bob mentioned earlier stems from the fact that
J is linked to APL and to the "notation as a tool of thought" of Ken.
So I don't think that mentioning or promoting the mathematical edge that
the language has (that makes it a strong competitor to python+numpy, Julia
or R) is a disadvantage.
Programmers not interested in solving mathematical problems on a computer
will choose a different language either way, such as C, C++, Java, python,
Golang, etc.
Best,
Michail
---
Michail L. Liarmakopoulos, MSc
On Sun, Jan 23, 2022, 17:32 Raul Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
On Sun, Jan 23, 2022 at 10:41 AM Henry Rich <[email protected]> wrote:
I strongly recommend removing the word 'mathematical' from the
one-line description of J. Most programmers are not highly, or
even moderately, mathematical, and people will be afraid that J is
for somebody else.
Many are not, but many are.
That said, those that are almost invariably have a specific focus
(machine learning, finance, statistics, graphics, logistics, etc.)
And, mathematics is itself a huge field where individuals invariably
specialize in their own niche.
(So I am not disagreeing with your recommendation -- I am instead
thinking that the mathematical aspects need some focus and specifics
to be relevant.)
Thanks,
--
Raul
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