1. agile software development & services
Augmenting Smalltalk
with your own Control
Flow Syntax
www.10pines.com
Hernán Wilkinson
Twitter: @HernanWilkinson
Blog: objectmodels.blogspot.com
www.10pines.com
2. In linguistics, syntax is the set of rules, principles, and
processes that govern the structure of sentences in a
given language, specifically word order. The term
syntax is also used to refer to the study of such
principles and processes. The goal of many
syntacticians is to discover the syntactic rules common
to all languages.
In mathematics, syntax refers to the rules governing the
behavior of mathematical systems, such as formal
languages used in logic. (See logical syntax.)
Syntax
3. In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules
governing the composition of clauses, phrases, and
words in any given natural language. The term refers
also to the study of such rules, and this field includes
morphology, syntax, and phonology, often
complemented by phonetics, semantics, and
pragmatics.
Grammar
4. How easy is to change the syntax?
How easy is to change the grammar?
Change
9. One day, in a typical PARC hallway bullsession, Ted
Kaehler, Dan Ingalls, and I were standing around
talking about programming languages. The subject of
power came up and the two of them wondered how
large a language one would have to make to get
great power. With as much panache as I could
muster, I asserted that you could define the "most
powerful language in the world" in "a page of
code." They said, "Put up or shut up."
10.
11. “The biggest hit for me while at SAIL
in late '69 was to really understand
LISP. Of course, every student knew
about car, cdr, and cons, but … no one
had penetrated the mysteries of eval
and apply. I could hardly believe how
beautiful and wonderful the idea of
LISP was [McCarthy 1960]”
12.
13. “… there were deep flaws in its
logical foundations. By this, I mean
that the pure language was supposed
to be based on functions, but its most
important components--such as
lambda expressions, quotes, and
conds--were not functions at all, and
instead were called special forms”
61. Conclusions
▶ Less syntax more flexibility
▶ Less syntax more grammar
▶ More grammar easier to change,
to augment!
▶ Less syntax makes the language
yours!
▶ Don’t be afraid! Make your own
language!