If we want to keep the idea that a single-glyph version of J could be used as a *written notation* as well as a computer-entered programming language, coloring the characters will probably not work. I wouldn't want to be changing pen colors while writing J formulas on paper, or changing chalk colors while writing J formulas on the blackboard (though that's exactly what Sal Kahn does on his electronic blackboard at Kahn Academy).
Do we want to give up on Iverson's dream of creating a unambiguous mathematical *notation*? I think that's why Ken kept as many traditional math symbols in APL as he did. To me, "notation" means *writing*, as well as printing, displays, etc.. "Notation" to me is any representation of the glyph set, no matter how it was generated. If we say that we no longer need to make it easy and legible to write J/APL formulas on a blackboard or paper, and we will never need to hand-write out a formula in J, then our constraints on how to represent J primitives relax considerably. Colored glyphs could work. For that matter, the current J 1-2 ASCII-character primitive symbols might work, if we made the dots bigger. For me, I would rather try to design a single-glyph J which could be used as an unambiguous notation, ideal for mathematical expressions. Skip On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 11:17 AM, William Tanksley, Jr <[email protected] > wrote: > neville holmes <[email protected]> wrote: > > Provide an option whereby J. primitives can be displayed > > as the base J character but in (say) red, and J: primitives > > can be displayed in (say) green. > > Humans don't process color with the same circuits that process text; > so where color reinforces what the text says it's helpful, but where > color provides something the text doesn't say it takes a LOT of effort > to read. So I don't think coloring the text will make J primitives > work as single letters. > > > Neville Holmes > > -Wm > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > -- Skip Cave Cave Consulting LLC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
