I realize the length of this email, but i would greatly appreciate it if
anybody would add their input. anythnig would help, really.
I was thinking recently about creating an element similar to ask (intended
to work with the current ask, not replace it) that was of a more code-like
nature, allowing for more control over display. It would have functions such
as add, sub, div, and mult (each operating on two numbers) and also a sum,
which would add up all the integer values.
There would also be a "query" function, which would take several sets of
parameters. (more on this later) and would return an object that was refered
to via other functions (attribute, attributes, relation, and relations).
Brief descriptions follow. (Q refers to the object that query(...) returned,
S refers to a string, F refers to a float, (...) is a list, L refers to a
list, D refers to a dictionary. functions are called with paranthesis. every
line ends with a ";". if you wish a semicolon in the code, you must escape
it as in many other languages (ie: "\;"). comments are shown with "//" and
continue till the next unescaped semicolon. note that the bold is for
demonstrating only and will not be in the final result.)
(the "dictionary" refered to above is a python-esque dictionary. this means
that there is a key (which is a string) which coresponds to a list (may be a
list of strings or a list of floats, but must be all the same))
the values of a dictionary may be refered to via D[S]=L, where S is the name
of the key.
queries are acceptable in place of dictionaries as parameters, but
dictionaries are not acceptable as queries.
extra whitespace at the begining and ending of lines will be ignored.
D=query((S),(S),S); // the first list of strings is page names (using * for
a wildcard). the last string (the one not in a list) is the sort. The second
list is very similar to the current ask. the list might look somethnig like
("category:checkbook","date:=+","date:=*","amount:=*","who:=*","memo:=*","chnum:=+","chnum:=*");
D=attribute(S,Q); // the given string is the name of an attribute (error if
not extant in Q). the keys of D are the names of pages and the lists are
lists of the values of the attribute;
D=attributes(S,Q); // the given string is the name of a page (error if not
extant in Q). the keys of D are the names of attributes and the lists are
lists of the values of the coresponding attribute;
D=relation(S,Q); // the given string is the name of a relation (error if not
extant in Q). the keys of D are the names of pages and the lists are lists
of the values of the relation;
D=relations(S,Q); // the given string is the name of a page (error if not
extant in Q). the keys of D are the names of relations and the lists are
lists of the values of the coresponding relations;
F=add(F,F); // return the two added together;
F=sub(F,F); // return the first minus the second;
F=mult(F,F); // return the two multiplied together;
F=div(F,F); // return the first divided by the second;
F=sum(D); // adds up all the values. error if it entounters a string. the
key is ignored. can be used on the output of attribute, attributes, or
query.;
F=length(D); // returns the number of keys in the dictionary or query;
the following is an example: (note no boldface is used)
// begin example;
q=query(("+"),("category:checkbook","date:=+","date:=*","amount:=*","who:=*","memo:=*","chnum:=+","chnum:=*"),"chnum");
print(sum(attribute("amount",q)));
print("\n\n\n");
bal=0;
rowh(("No","Pay to the order of","Memo","Date","Amount","Balance")); // this
will be explained later
foreach(q,title) // this will be explained later
{
a=attributes(title,q);
row((a["chnum"],a["who"],a["memo"],a["date"],a["amount"],bal)); // this
will be explained later
bal=add(bal,a["amount"]);
};
row(("","","","","",bal));
rowf(); // this will be explained later
// end example;
the following is an explaination of the new function, as well as a few more
not used above (following the same conventions as above):
rowh((S)); // creates a header for a table like the current ask does. the
strings are the title of the columns;
row((S or F)); // adds a row to the current table. the items will print in
the same order as they appear;
rowf(); // ends the current table;
foreach(D,variable) {...}; // iterates through the query, assigning the
variable (do not quote it) to the value of the key. also works with queries.
the contents inside "{" and "}" are the same as elsewhere, except that they
have another variable with which to work;
print(S or F); // prints the string or float;
table(Q); // print the query as the current ask would;
To anybody who got this far, or gave input: Thank you very much!
Christopher Baker
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