Abstract
Fact 1: A programming language is a way of saying what should happen. Fact 2: Most programming languages can only be understood by experts. This short chapter discusses the implications of those two facts, in the light of many other languages that have historically been used by experts to specify what should happen. The semiotic argument underlying the discussion offers some parallels to Umberto Eco’s classic “The Search for the Perfect Language”.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Blackwell AF, Fincher S (2010) PUX: patterns of user experience. Interactions 17(2):27–31
Eco U (1995) The search for the perfect language. Wiley, London
James W (1910) The varieties of religious experience: a study in human nature. Longmans Green and Company, New York
Kaijanaho AJ (2015) Evidence-based programming language design: a philosophical and methodological exploration. Jyväskylä studies in computing, p 222
Moody D (2009) The “physics” of notations: toward a scientific basis for constructing visual notations in software engineering. IEEE Trans Softw Eng 35(6):756–779
de Souza CS (2005) The semiotic engineering of human-computer interaction. MIT press, Cambridge, MA
de Souza CS, de Gusmão Cerqueira RF, Afonso LM, de Mello Brandão RR, Soares J, Ferreira J (2016) Software developers as users: semiotic investigations in human-centered software development. Springer, New York
Stajano F (2000) Python in education: raising a generation of native speakers. In: Proceedings of 8th international python conference
Warwick A (2003) Masters of theory: Cambridge and the rise of mathematical physics. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. ISBN 0-226-87375-7
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Blackwell, A.F. (2017). 6,000 Years of Programming Language Design: A Meditation on Eco’s Perfect Language. In: Diniz Junqueira Barbosa, S., Breitman, K. (eds) Conversations Around Semiotic Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56291-9_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56291-9_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56290-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56291-9
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)