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[REBOL] Re: Antwort: Re: WYSIWYG programming

From: ryanc:iesco-dms at: 25-Oct-2000 11:32

First I would like to thank Holger for the very enlightening explanation. I am forever changed. --Ryan Holger Kruse wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 25, 2000 at 02:52:45PM +0100, [Sharriff--Aina--med-iq--de] wrote: > > > > Very important thread, it is very helpful that so many people on the list > > take such matters into consideration. Its just strange that RT seems very > > silent about this issue... > > As mentioned before, this is because we are extremely busy. I'll make an > attempt at a response though. In any case, this should be considered my > personal opinion only. It does not represent the official position of > REBOL Technologies. Carl, e.g., is much more of an expert in programming > languages than I am, and may see some things differently, or place > different emphasis. > > First of all, I consider most of what Ladislav mentioned to be the result of > "switching pain", difficulties when switching from one language to another > one, and adjusting to a different way of thinking. It is easy to keep using > paradigms that are common in C or Pascal when switching to REBOL (paradigms > such as "code", "variables", "execution" etc.), instead of switching to the > REBOL way of thinking. This sometimes gets people into trouble. From the > terminology Ladislav used I suspect that this may be the case here, too. See > below. > > "Switching pain" is not unique to REBOL. It happens almost any time someone > switches from any language to any other language. If you ever had to switch > from Modula/Pascal to C you probably found that 'a:=""' does not simply > become 'a=""', and that in C "if(a=1)" may not do what you want :-). > > It would be very nice to have "quick quides" such as "REBOL for C programmers", > "REBOL for Modula programmers" or even "REBOL for PERL programmers" (ouch!), > which briefly explained the major paradigm differences and specific things to > watch out for, e.g. knowing that in REBOL "a: []" does NOT mean "copy an empty > block to the variable 'a'". Or the fact that in REBOL arithmetic evaluation > is left-to-right, without precedence rules. We may eventually provide such > guides, but, you know, limited time... Maybe someone out in the community > could write a first draft. > > I agree with Joel that, in order to become really adept at REBOL, you have > to understand some of its concepts (values, references, NO variables !, blocks, > contexts, words etc.), but then that is true for any language. Try programming > in C without knowing what a pointer is, how to use it, what the difference > between a global, a static, an auto or an extern declaration is, or what you need > to do to handle strings (doing memory management yourself etc.). > > In comparison REBOL seems a lot easier, but even with REBOL, if you don't know > what words, references, contexts or blocks are you will eventually run into road > blocks (no pun intended). Interestingly enough, from our experience users who have > never used other languages before often have FEWER problems adjusting to REBOL's > way of thinking than experienced programmers. That's probably because experienced > programmers tend to skip forewords and introductory chapters in manuals (the "I know > that already" syndrome), and don't even realize until much later that they are stuck > with a way of thinking that does not fully apply and that tends to make things more > difficult for them. > > To me, this whole issue is about collecting information on what particular > areas cause problems for users which backgrounds, and presenting/distributing > this information in a way that makes it easier for users to adjust. > > Now about the particular discussion regarding "self-modifying code" (shudder), > and a slight attempt at "re-education" :-). > > First of all, I appreciate Ladislav's attempt at explaining those "gotchas". I don't > fully agree with his explanation or interpretation though :-), for several reasons. > Ladislav seems to apply terms that are not really appropriate, such as "self-modifying > code" (or even just "code"), "executed code", "code in execution" etc. This is not > the REBOL way of thinking, and in some situations it may even make issues more difficult > to understand. > > In REBOL everything is data, so you never have "self-modifying code". A block of data > may get evaluated, and in the process even modified, but you start off with data and end > up with data. This may seem like unnecessary emphasis on terminology (and I am usually > not a stickler for terminology), but you will see the benefits in a minute... > > Part of the confusion results from a misunderstanding exactly what > > a: [] > > means. Some users may intuitively think that a ":" in REBOL is similar to a ":=" in > Pascal/Modula, and that "a: []" means "create the variable 'a' and initialize it to > an empty block". If they find that the same part of their script later reads > > a: ["text"] > > they may assume that something "modified their code", and that "if the statement is > executed again the variable 'a' is now assigned to a different value". That is NOT > the case. It is incorrect thinking that is leading to a misinterpretation of what is > happening. > > Here is what > > a: [] > > really means: First keep in mind, that both the "a:" and the "[]" are within another > block, i.e. they are just pieces of data. That means the "[]" is a block that exists > before the function is even evaluated. The block was created when the script was first > loaded, and at THAT time the block is created empty. > > When "a: []" is evaluated, a reference from the word "a" to the block following the > "a:" is created. That is ALL that happens. No data is copied, no data is initialized. > The effect is that, from that point on, evaluating the word "a" returns the block > "a" is referencing, regardless of its value. That block starts off being empty, but, > as with any other block, its value can change. The fact that the block is located inside > of another block, which just happens to be a function body, makes no difference. REBOL > does not enforce the block to be "constant". If you create a reference to it and then > change the block through the reference -- then the block will get changed, even if it > was defined inside of a function body. > > This is not "self-modifying code", but simply "data being modified", which is what > programming is all about. The "code" is still the same. When evaluated it creates > a reference from the word "a" to the block following the "a:" and it does that same > thing every time. The contents of the block may have changed, but it is still the > same block, so the evaluation still does the same thing and will always create the > same reference. > > If you really want to compare this to something in other programming languages, > then compare it to something like the following in C: > > char data[16]="abc"; > > void f(void) { > char *a=data; > > printf("%s\n",a); > strcat(a,"1"); > } > > The first time you call the function it prints "abc", the next time "abc1", then > "abc11" etc., eventually it crashes :-). No self-modifying code here either. Observe > how the "a=data" pointer assignment (somewhat similar to reference in REBOL, not > 100% though) executes the exact same code every time the function is called. Not > "strange" behavior at all. > > You could even put the "abc" into the function and make "a" static. Same effect. We > need pointers and string manipulation here to "emulate" what REBOL does. That's > because "variables" behave differently than "references". > > > 2) The current state of REBOL is beginning to remind me of the state > > of FORTH when I last used it seriously (mid-80s). One issue that > > hindered the growth and acceptance of FORTH was the fact that one > > had to understand most of its language-level concepts in terms of > > implementation details; to effectively use the language, one had > > to understand ALL of the way that ALL of the core was built. I'd > > hate to see REBOL suffer the same marginalization. > > I don't think users need to know any implementation details of REBOL. The main > stumbling block seems to be a conceptual misunderstanding what a "reference" or > "value" is, e.g. compared to a "variable". Knowing how REBOL internally represents > a series or a word would not help. > > > To use REBOL control structures reliably, one MUST first > > understand the significance of copying, deep copying, function > > definition, and contexts. I worry about whether this cost is > > so high as to prove prohibitive to entry-level REBOL users. > > Ladislav suggests deep copying everything. I don't think that is necessary or > appropriate (from a performance point of view). Just as you do not want to > fork() lots of processes in C only because there is a static variable somewhere in > your code. You just need to think about what behavior you want, and what it means > in terms of references to data items. Using the example > > code1: [ > i: 0 > while [(i: i + 1) <= 5] [ > block: [] > insert block "text" > ] > block > ] > > Here "block: []" means "Create a reference to a block embedded in the function > body." (the block following "block:"). At the end of the function "block" means > "evaluate block and return the result", which just happens to be a reference to a > block embedded in the function body, because that is what you set the word "block" > to. This may not be what you want though. > > Not only is evaluating "block: []" inside of the while loop redundant (because the > reference never changes, so you can just as well do it only once, before the > loop, making the code more readable and efficient), but you are also returning a > reference to an item inside of your function. The caller would not be free to > manipulate it without causing side effects, and different callers would get > references to the SAME item every time. > > THAT is why you should use "copy". "block: copy []" really gives you a NEW empty block, > not a reference to an existing block. It means "use the following (empty) block as > a template to give me a reference to a new empty block". It is somewhat like the > "new" operator in C++. > > If it makes things easier to understand, consider "copy []" to be a constructor for > a new empty block. Same thing regarding empty strings (or any series in general). > Also, always keep in mind that "a: []" creates a reference, but does not copy any > data and does not create any new "object"/"entity". That kind of thinking should > explain REBOL's behavior quite nicely, without resorting to wild copy/deep workarounds > for "self-modifying code" :-). > > -- > Holger Kruse > [holger--rebol--com] > > -- > To unsubscribe from this list, please send an email to > [rebol-request--rebol--com] with "unsubscribe" in the > subject, without the quotes.
-- Ryan Cole Programmer Analyst www.iesco-dms.com 707-468-5400 I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. -Einstein