[REBOL] Re: REBOL ARTICLE: Please review
From: nitsch-lists:netcologne at: 30-Oct-2001 16:59
RE: [REBOL] Re: REBOL ARTICLE: Please review
[Al--Bri--xtra--co--nz] wrote:
> Tim wrote:
> > http://www.johnsons-web.com/rebarticle.txt
>
> I noticed that "rebol" is in lower case. I think it should be "Rebol"?
>
> "because of rebols human-language approach to syntax"
>
> Should be "rebol's" ?
>
> "Code and data is merged into a single concept"
> I'd name that "single concept" as "values"?
>
No. its, its, well its - puh.
everything is data, including the code.
then you apply an dialect (interpreter)
which evaluates parts of the code.
other parts can be left unchanged or direct evaluated in another
dialect.
like
view layout[a: field [print "bing"] do[focusa]
further important: nothing is data.
content of the %index.r like
%abcd.r "Wow! my file!" icon tool effect[invert]
are instructions to the special interpreter called dektop :-)
very important: binding.
that is, you can pass code to an interpreter, but it stays bound
to its old context(s). see
view layout[a: field [print "bing"] do[focusa]
where does the 'a belong?
if you would pass strings as source, things like setting 'a there
would be difficult.
because of this C++ replaced macros with templates,
complicated macros which are able to figure that out.
but somewhat more restricted in a way,
but more powerfull in another
(hyper-complicated compile-time -interpreter)
because of which state-of-the-art-c++-programmers have all
this holes in the foots from shooting themself in.
rebol solves this lots more clever. By parsing source as far as
needed for binding.
Then giving the rest back to the dialect-programmers.
now one can change the source free.
like i do a lot with composing my sources.
pre-parsed source allows also interpretation based on datatypes,
like saying in layouts 1.2.3 is a color and as version it
is a special number. which makes entering data into programms a lot
more easy.
not only because of code-size, but because of
plow.addBlurbX(toYEp("123"));
You remember, it was Blurb and not Croxlox? Similar in Demo(n)language..
realworld problem with length, length() and size() in java.
where i need a docu-lookup for each word ;-)
giving a rebol-guy with a text-editor the power of a usual guy
with full blown data-creators like guy-builders.
so there is more with "Code and data is merged into a single concept"
than values ;-)
thanks for the audience
-Volker
