Re: [ANN] Lua 5.2.0 (beta-rc1) now available

[steve donovan <steve.j.donovan@...>]

On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 8:32 AM, Miles Bader <miles@gnu.org> wrote:
> think of the generally simpler and more regular hierachies and units
> of programming-languages, rather than the very free hierachies and
> units that often seem to be used in literate programs.

Within the usual constraints of correctness, robustness and efficiency
there are an indefinite number of ways of expressing the problem so
that the machine is happy, from obfuscation to the code people love to
read. These extra constraints are subjective and hard to express and
measure, of course.

We mostly have the freedom to organize that document so that it reads
like a clear exposition of the problem, but I wonder whether there is
not some orthogonality involved, so that explanation is best handled
by a separate document referring to the code. For example, seen as a
document, a class is a list of verb definitions.  Dictionaries are not
generally considered fun reading, which is where the set of tests
needs to fulfill its dual role as documentation.

steve d.