Re: [Bug-apl] is there a )copy ⎕fns like ⎕e x is )erase

[Elias Mårtenson]

On 26 April 2014 20:52, Kacper Gutowski <address@hidden> wrote:

On 2014-04-26 12:08:14, Juergen Sauermann wrote:
> I could make the ∇-editor aware that a )COPY is in progress and that
> functions shall be deleted automatically by the ∇-editor.

I like a lot that there is now a command that sources another file
raw, much like "." in shell or "#include" in cpp.  It's all that is
needed to make more complex programs/libraries in forms of
UNIX-ish-style scripts without relying on (hardly readable) workspace
files.

With this mindset I find any changes to behaviour highly unexpected
and I would probably report them as a bugs (unless properly documented
as an actual features, of course).  It might not be a problem in case
of ∇, but for updating already defined function it's an overkill as it
can be easily done explicitly by programmer like that:

∇mean[0]
  R←mean B
  R←(+/B)÷⍴B
∇

This can be )COPY-ied many times without any problems as it enters the
editor with a name only and then explicitly rewrites header line at [0].

I don't like this at all. I want my APL source files to define functions as such:

      ∇Z←foo X

      Z←X+1

      ∇

 

I would also like to be able to reload the source files fully after making major changes (a simple change can be pushed by simply pressing C-c C-c on it of course). This means that I don't want to have any unexpected behaviour when doing so.

 

As for implementing )EDIT-like routine, in other systems it launches
editor with a function body only, not ∇-editor commands.
So I think it might be a good idea to dump function's ⎕CR to a
temporary file and then launch external editor on it.  When done
editing, read it back, split by lines, and simply pass it to ⎕FX.
Maybe also ⎕EX FN when ⎕FX returns success with a different name,
and)COPY/)DUMP to destination file as appropriate.

That is essentially what the Emacs mode does today, internally. Although it uses some native code to do it.

Regards,

Elias