[PD] What about multilingual Pd ?

[Mathieu Bouchard]

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005, Marc Lavalléee wrote:

> No. The effort is about software localization, not translation of a
> programming language.

In the context of PureData, those two things are curiously similar.

> Translating the objects would require PD to support dialects, like
> AppleScript did.

It doesn't, because the .pd files don't need to contain non-english 
classnames, whereas you'd write AppleScript in a plain text editor with no 
special translation support from the editor, so AppleScript files _had_ to 
be themselves multilingual.

> It would be impractical, because PD's language is graphical and not
> using a natural language metaphor.

Pd is hybrid: it's definitely textual to a large extent.

Sign languages are arguably just as natural as the spoken natural 
languages.

(However, please note that many linguists are conservative and in denial
and stuck in a preposterously pre-post-Derrida era where they see writing
as speech-like and not speech as writing-like)

> Even in English, most object names must be decoded, like "osc~"; those
> names are not in English, they are in the PD dialect.

Right. vocabulary-wise, Pd is more of a dialect of English than most other 
programming languages (but less so than NATO +55.(0)242.666)

> Using "little simple english" with technology is not enough to deal with
> complex concepts, and it is an insult to our cultural intelligences.  
> English is a rich language, but it's not mine...

Vocabulary is only one thing. What distinguishes programming languages
from each other has more to do with their grammars, none of which are
close to English, even the read-only abortions such as Cobol and
AppleScript. (the Smalltalk language is a less naïve attempt at imitating
natural language)

> I read the other comments about this sensible subject; of course, some
> would prefer to have support for some new "super-duper" features,

If they prefer it so much, why don't they pay me to do something else??

> Mathieu, we want DesireData! 
> (and a better name...)

swap the middle letters: s/red/der/i

does it still look stupid?

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| Mathieu Bouchard - tél:+1.514.383.3801 - http://artengine.ca/matju
| Freelance Digital Arts Engineer, Montréal QC Canada