On Sep 30, 2005, at 10:27 AM, Joseph J. Strout wrote:
Well, yes, it's very readable, but very hard to write. Geoff
describes it as a read-only language, and though I did a fair
amount of Applescript in my day, I think this description is pretty
apt.
I've worked with Applescript some, and I agree that "read only" is a
good description.
Applescript suffers from a deficit common to many technical and
scientific languages, with Appscript being an extreme example. When a
technical or scientific language writer a coins a term using a common
English-language word, there are benefits and problems. The benefits
are that the general notion of the new term is well understood and
easy to remember. But problems arise when the general meaning of the
word is confused with the technical meaning of the same word. A
reader cannot assume that nuances of the technical meaning can be
accurately guessed. Many reserved words in basic (and REALbasic) can
be found in a common dictionary, and the technical meaning is close
to the dictionary meaning. But assuming that you know the meaning of
a technical word because you know the dictionary meaning can lead to
great difficulties.
I think this is easily recognized in computer languages. The problem
may be less obvious but perhaps more damaging in the hard sciences
and social sciences. I work in Neuroscience where there are
increasing number of technical terms derived from common language. A
few I can think of are: learning, memory, information, context,
network, relay, reflex, behavior, perception, sensation, motor
output, excitation and inhibition. Although the general meaning of a
phrase using these terms is easy for people to grasp, the real
meaning is dependent on knowing the technical definition of the term
or the definition the author is using. Crisp definition of terms is
critical. Some have even argued that scientific terms shouldn't be
based on common words which encourage false analogies.
John Kubie
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