I've been pondering about what a syntax free language might look like.
Perhaps something like max/puredata. These graph based languages still
have textual labels like other languages, but the syntax is done by
connecting the labels together with wires, to particular inlets and
outlets.
But how could you get the meaning across without the syntax of wires? I
think by making distance meaningful, putting labels close together or
far apart would somehow describe their relationship. Instead of a graph
of labels you would make clusters of labels with particular semantic
arrangements.
I suppose you could just end up re-implementing wires - instead of
explicitly connecting labels, you implicitly connect them, perhaps
nearest neighbours are connected together via compatible inlets /
outlets. This could be an efficient way of making a graph. But I'm
thinking beyond this, to a system where programs are described using
shape, where distance is meaningful... For example if I move one
oscillator closer to another one they influence each other more and
begin to harmonise, or if I move a bang closer to a counter, the counter
resets on a bang more often.
Clearly I haven't thought this through, but does anyone have any more
ideas how this could work?
alex
Received on Thu Mar 06 2008 - 10:26:40 GMT