I like this (though I don't "Like" it) - it reminds me of one the IP Sharp APLers whose card described him as an "aplanaticist" - from "aplanatic: describes a lens that does not have, or is corrected for, spherical aberration and so produces a clear undistorted image" - that is, a sharp image. Also, the first three letters are APL.
On Wed, Jun 8, 2011 at 12:01 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > OK here's a beautiful word that's obscure enough for J lovers to > appreciate: > > Argute > > Ar*gute"\, a. [L. argutus, p. p. of arguere. See Argue.] > > 1. Sharp; shrill. [Obs.] --Johnson. > > 2. Sagacious; acute; subtle; shrewd. > > The active preacher . . . the argue schoolman. --Milman. Webster's > Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. > Cite This Source > > > I like both meanings :) > > Simon > > > Quoting [email protected]: > > > I disagree - just to be devil's advocate here... > > > > It's not the function of a single word to express all the nuances of J > > (or of anything, except in poetry). So complaining that English > > isn't "powerful" enough to describe J in a single word is as > > fruitlesss as complaining that J isn't powerful enough to describe > > English in one word. > > > > The fact that J has subtle and implicit power is a good enough > > description without having to explain that it uses implicit rather > > than explicit looping or has tacit code, etc. > > > > How about words like: > > > > "Expert" > > "Powerful" > > "Potent" > > "Refined" > > "Effective" > > "Efficatious" > > "Sophisticated" > > "Profound" > > "Elegant" > > "Subtle" > > "Inventive" > > "Cunning" > > "Competent" > > > > The problem with words like this is that they can apply to lots of > > things and not uniquely to J. > > > > How about made-up words like "Mathemagical"? > > > > > > Simon > > > > Quoting Henry Rich <[email protected]>: > > > >> I agree. > >> > >> It's hard to express in a paragraph how it is that the parts of J work > >> together, and how, by letting you think about problems rather than > >> implementation, it makes you a better, faster, more elegant programmer. > >> A single word is more likely to be misleading than descriptive. > >> > >> Henry Rich > >> > >> On 6/7/2011 9:16 PM, Marshall Lochbaum wrote: > >>> The problem I see in finding such a word is that it not only has to > convey > >>> the power of implicit looping and tacit code, but is has to convey the > >>> simplicity of J. J's interpreted nature and minimally designed > primitives > >>> make it much easier to use than other systems with fancier design. > Frankly, > >>> I'm not sure the English language has enough power to express that in > one > >>> word. > >>> > >>> Marshall > >>> > >>> -----Original Message----- > >>> From: [email protected] > >>> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ric Sherlock > >>> Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2011 8:55 PM > >>> To: Programming forum > >>> Subject: Re: [Jprogramming] One word description of J > >>> > >>> Yes certainly in Australasia calling something/someone "feral" is not > >>> exactly a compliment! > >>> > >>> http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-of/feral > >>> > >>> On Wed, Jun 8, 2011 at 12:14 PM,<[email protected]> wrote: > >>>> I think that the word "feral" has negative and destructive > >>>> connotations. Not a word to use if you want to promote the use of J > >>>> to a manager. > >>>> > >>>> Surely we need a word that indicates incredible usefulness or > >>>> competence. How about "dextrous" or "omnidextrous". > >>>> > >>>> Simon > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> Quoting John Baker<[email protected]>: > >>>> > >>>>> I've been thinking about what's a good single word description of J. > >>>>> Something that suggests the important features of the language and > >>>>> conveys the spirit of J programming. I offer the word: feral. > >>>>> Here's a footnote I recently added to the upcoming JOD 0.9.3 > >>> documentation. > >>>>> > >>>>> Coming up with an accurate description of J is a challenge. The > >>>>> language is definitely array oriented and contains an almost pure > >>>>> functional tacit sub-language. However J also contains substantial > >>>>> imperative features and its clever use of locales and locale paths > >>>>> simulates most of the useful features of object oriented languages. > >>>>> Waving your hands and declaring a language multi-paradigm or agile is > >>>>> the standard way out but unfortunately this does not distinguish J. I > >>> think J is a *feral* programming language. > >>>>> The word feral sounds like a mixture of functional and imperative and > >>>>> the established meaning of feral: almost wild, wilily, able to > >>>>> survive on your own but willing to cooperate – on your own terms - > >>>>> conveys the independent free thinking character of J programmers. > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> -- > >>>>> John D. Baker > >>>>> [email protected] > >>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>>>> - For information about J forums see > >>>>> http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>>> For information about J forums see > http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>> For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > >>> > >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >>> For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > >>> > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > >> > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > -- Devon McCormick, CFA ^me^ at acm. org is my preferred e-mail ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
