Re: Abstract Algorithms

Ben Laurie (ben@algroup.co.uk)
Tue, 28 Jul 1998 23:49:30 +0100

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Johnny Eriksson wrote:
>
> Ben Laurie <ben@algroup.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > > Like pseudocode, you mean?
> >
> > Hmmm ... suppose I were to write a program that took C and converted it
> > to an English explanation of the C. Would the resulting explanation be
> > exportable? As I understand it, it would, wouldn't it?
> >
> > Suppose the transformation just happened to be reversible...
> >
> > int f(int a,int b)
> > {
> > return a+b;
> > }
> >
> > ...
> >
> > In order to calculate the function f, which returns an int, and takes
> > two arguments a, an int, and b, an int, return the result of adding a to
> > b.
>
> Congratulations. You have just reinvented COBOL...

:-) My initial thought was "just write it in COBOL", but I realised that
COBOL, although English-like, is not actually English. My aim was to
produce real English (which you'd never program in, but in this scheme
you wouldn't have to) with reversibility.

Cheers,

Ben.

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