Re: Desired Lua Features

[Paige DePol <lual@...>]

gz@tset.de wrote:

> Am 2018-01-29 03:40, schrieb Paige DePol:
> 
>> I fully understand what you mean here... when I think of code I often
>> already have a structure in mind for how it should function. Having to
>> change that structure around when typing in the code can break that flow
>> and can even introduce bugs. If I see my code in a switch/case construct,
>> or even ternaries, then it can be a pain having to convert it to if/else!
> 
> If you structure the code with switch, ternaries and stuff like that in
> your mind, then you are obviously already thinking in terms of some
> programming language. May I ask, why don't you use that language then,
> instead of another one that does not seem to fit to your thoughts? (that
> is an honest question)

Recently they discovered a condition they've named aphantasia[1], which is
the inability to summon imagery in the mind's eye. While I can't visualise
things directly, I tend to think more conceptually[2]... especially where
programming is concerned. It's not like I am thinking directly in terms of
switch/case or ternaries, but rather the structures they represent. When I
think of code I conceptualise my ideas in a language-agnostic way, then I
form those concepts into syntax of the language I am using at the time. If
that language doesn't have the structures I need then I have to adapt my
concepts to a more limited syntax, and sometimes that can be annoying!

The main issue I have is when I don't have full understanding of a concept
down then it is quite hard to conceptualise things around that area. Once
I gain understanding, however, the new concept merges with all the other
coding structures I know about and my repertoire grows. For example, when
I first learned about the OOP paradigm, I didn't quite get it. Somehow,
reading a totally unrelated book made something in my head click about
how OOP works... I had an epiphany and at that point OOP made sense!

I tend to pick up new coding languages fairly easy, especially when they
have a related syntax or underlying similarity. But even when I learn about
some languages that are vastly different, like Forth, I still take away
knowledge that will help me in other languages. I have been thinking of
checking out some of the more esoteric and domain specific languages at
a future point as well... but for now hacking Lua is my main focus.

I have always wanted my own coding language, not for any real reason, but
just to learn how languages work at a deeper level. Lua has been the most
amazing resource for this, and is a testament to Team Lua. I do not hack
at Lua to suggest in any way that Lua is inferior or inadequate in any
way at all... and I really hope Team Lua does not perceive my hacking of
Lua to create Lua++ in that manner. I am deeply appreciative of the work
Team Lua has done, and am very grateful they have open sourced Lua so
that people like me can use it as a learning platform!

I hack on Lua and generate patches to share with the community for one
basic reason... to expand my knowledge and to help others expand theirs.
If I happen to create new ways to represent my coding thoughts in the
process, that is just a bonus... as is having my own language! :D

~Paige

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia

[2] For example, if I say "think of an apple" people typically think of,
    and see in their mind's eye, an apple of some variety. For people
    like me there is no internal imagery at all, ever[3]. When I think
    of an apple I think of everything apple related... at once. I can
    then "pull" on a thread, say food, and get all apple related foods.
    If I pull on other mental threads I can get other concepts related
    to apples, then that can diverge to other concepts depending on
    which internal threads I follow. It is hard to explain how thinking
    works, but that is as close as I can get.

[3] Aphantasia, like most everything else, is on a spectrum. Some people
    with the condition have various levels of internal visualisation, or
    audible recall... personally, from all the reading I have done, I
    appear to be 100% aphantasic. I have no ability to recall anything
    in my mind's eye... no visuals, no sounds, nada. Just darkness.