Amazingly, APL is more readable. Actually, it's even pretty intuitive. Which proves again, that restricting code to ASCII when every competent programmer (and PC-user in general) can enter almost any unicode symbols just fine is simply stupid.
And with regards to hotkeys, let's say you do Ctrl+alt+shift+esc+e to insert a unicode symbol, is that really better than just having a programming language where the common hotkeys are spelled out with a few ASCII characters?
Seems https://fluxkeyboard.com/ might be a great fit for programming in APL and similar.
- k has much fewer primitives. it's easier to remember a smaller set of operations.
- k is statically parsable. APL is not. we know the program structure simply by reading the code.
this is completely subjective. because you find APL more intuitive doesn't prove anything. to each their own.
Yeah, I’d love to discuss with colleagues how square-c works together with right double crowbar.
No, thanks.
x = √y
… would you pronounce it as “x, two parallel horizontal lines, V with a left hook, y”?
The symbols have a meaning that’s unrelated to their appearance. It’s the same in APL. The “square c” is just like “V with a left hook”.
“√” isn’t even a natural character, it’s a graphical delineator between an index and a radicand, similar to ÷ or % forms of division. By “obelus” (sharpened stick) do you mean dot above and below a line, a percent, a dagger or just a line?
Sure there will be enough confusion with ~10-30 extra symbols that aren’t even on a keyboard and may not have a single meaning or a name.
The point is, within the programming language, they do have a single meaning and a a name.