Re: Fire defun by typing keyword

[Rustom Mody]

On Wednesday, November 6, 2013 4:08:14 AM UTC+5:30, Emanuel Berg wrote:
> Kai Großjohann writes:

> > for (int i=0; i<10; i++) {
> >     _
> > }
> > You could create an abbrev that reads a type (int), a
> > variable (i), an initial value (0), a final value
> > (10), and then produces the above, where _ indicates
> > the position of the cursor.

> Wow! I actually had that exact same thought a couple of
> years ago:

> http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/71599

> Back then I thought there was basically no thinking at
> all to programming, it was just a matter of finger
> habits, eye-hand coordination, eye-brain interpretation
> (as opposed to the crude "reading"), etc., all physical
> in one way or another. Typing and everything should be
> so fast so it could "keep up" with the thinking (which
> was trivial in a pleasant, not boring, sense).

> While I still think this aspect is grossly overlooked, I
> don't think it is "all about that" anymore. I certainly
> have the time to write a for loop now and then without
> my mind beaming away in some other direction, hopelessly
> lost forever after.

> But it is an amazing thought - imagine to have an entire
> programming language coded anew like that, with every
> construct just a short abbrev away. It would make for
> "parametric" programming if there ever was one.

Well APL was conceived on that basis: every important/core concept
was a keystroke away.  And Iverson won the Turing award for that:
http://www.jdl.ac.cn/turing/pdf/p444-iverson.pdf

Modernized version
Warning dizziness ahead:
http://aplwiki.com/FinnAplIdiomLibrary