On Fri, Mar 15, 2013 at 11:27 AM, Greg Borota <[email protected]> wrote: > 3) I am not the first to mention this. I wish there was a minimal J > language core documented/available. I see veterans on this forum saying > things like: "I almost never use some of those verbs". Is there not a > minimal J language core targeting general language use? For example, > leaving out specifics like numerical analysis, statistics, etc. This > might help some not drop by the way side. E.g. http://xprogramming > .com/category/j-language/
In my experience, we typically focus on a small subset of J's vocabulary, but the subset we use depends on our application, and how we approach our problems. In other words, I think that there's a good variety of "minimal Js" each probably with its own audience and context. For example, many programming language have a if/then construct. J provides these keywords, but it's worth noticing that the pattern here is a data driven operation where we choose between executing some bit of code "0 times or 1 time". Meanwhile, J's * is a "times operator". So in some contexts 0 * n or 1 * n can be used to achieve the same end. (J offers a few other options, also.) It's rare for any program to need more than one or two of these mechanisms. (I choose this example because there's almost nothing about the description that's specific to J, but many other languages have enough distracting issues that you might not have noticed the pattern.) > 4) Whenever it felt like dropping, browsing through papers like "Notation > as a tool of thought" or "Language as an intellectual tool: From > hieroglyphics to APL" helped boost my motivation to stay the course. Maybe > creating a "Why learn J" section on J site where this kind of papers, > articles, etc. are referenced would help many. Do you feel motivated to help write such a thing? > 5) English is not my native language. With the Internet, anything posted > online in English has automatically a global audience. Maybe keeping that > in mind and going easier on un-common/literary English words would help J > adoption some more? It's a pity APL language family are not > more mainstream. I think our profession has much to lose because of the > current state of things. If you have the energy to detail problem cases you recognize in the introductory or reference works, maybe we can think of better ways to present the important ideas? Thanks, -- Raul ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
