pouncer Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 If you look back to years ago, there were textual programming languages. Nowadays, more and more languages based on visual alphabets are being defined to provide the user with a more intuitive and application specific interaction with the programming and application environment. Do you guys agree? What sort of applications do we really need visual languages for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effigy Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 languages based on visual alphabets What do you mean by this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roopurt18 Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I think he means languages like basic that have: IF blahblah THEN END IF The answer to your question is simple. Those languages were created for business-users who get easily confused over syntax based on punctuation. Also, since the intended users aren't real programmers they're not inherently lazy, so they don't mind typing THEN and END IF when { and } would suffice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effigy Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Symbolism makes the work of man easier. Stop lights do not literally read "Stop," "Go," and "Yield"--that's too much work, so they're broken down into color associations. The same goes with programming. It's easier to see { ... } grouping code compared to "IF" ... "END IF." And, as roopurt mentioned, it's less typing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trq Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Funny though that some newer languages like Python for instance are bringing it all back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neylitalo Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Funny though that some newer languages like Python for instance are bringing it all back. Oh, I don't know about that at all - Python doesn't even make you use "end if", you just un-indent! I know what you mean, though - it's almost reminiscient of Visual Basic. In my opinion, they each have advantages and disadvantages. While the languages with constructs like "end if" (or "if/fi" and "case/esac" in my favorite scripting language ) require more typing and may be more difficult for your brain to split up into chunks, it's easier to learn for the people who know the spoken language that the programming language uses, especially if they have no programming experience. It might be a bit more difficult for people who speak a different language, but I don't know - I haven't had any experience in that area, so I can't say anything for sure. People who have programming or computer experience will be used to the fact that you often have to use parentheses, braces, and semicolons - but people who are just breaking into the field will find it strange, and a more natural language will probably make it easier on them. And, of course, the opposite is true for people with experience - once you've gotten used to the oddities of communicating with computers, you'll probably be more comfortable with the more efficient, easier-on-the-eyes syntax that the special characters provide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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