Xah Programing Blog
Syntactic obsession, imperative despisal, unicode ♥, hacker hate
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- bitcoin me 19dfoa3Q7oehm9MwCULQzBG8vqfCaeMazH
the story of Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ō Ŏ Ő Ɵ Ơ Ǒ Ȍ Ȏ Ȫ Ȭ Ȯ Ȱ Ǫ Ǭ Ø Ǿ Ṍ Ṏ Ṑ Ṓ Ọ Ỏ Ố Ồ Ổ Ỗ Ộ Ớ Ờ Ở Ỡ Ợ
transpose matrix in python
aa = [[1, 2, 3], ['a', 'b', 'c']] bb = [list(col) for col in zip(*aa)] print(bb) # [[1, 'a'], [2, 'b'], [3, 'c']]
aa = [ [1, 2, 3], ['a', 'b', 'c'] ] bb = [[x[i] for x in aa] for i in range(len(aa[0]))] print(bb)
bitcoin ₿ key is 34 chars. is there a standard where to split? like every 5 chars or 10?
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System by Satoshi Nakamoto bitcoin_m4kgn.pdf
Unicode: Greek Alphabet α β γ updated.
Xah Talk Show schedule
ok, finally i have a schedule. Thx to BartholomewJS's incessant prompts. 😇
All time is San Francisco time.
- 2019-08-17 Sat, 10am
- 2019-08-18 Sun, 10am
- 2019-08-19 Mon, 10am
- 2019-08-20 Tue, 10am
- 2019-08-21 Wed, 10am
topic is undecided. But basically the subject is going to be any of:
- unicode
- emacs tips
- emacs lisp live coding + tutorial
- JavaScript live coding + tutorial
- keyboard
- programing language
go YouTube xahlee sub + 🔔
math font converter
lol, this thread. https://twitter.com/FakeUnicode/status/1029861801507213312
but am thinking, perhaps it's the other way round. 𝔰𝔬𝔣𝔱𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔰𝔲𝔭𝔭𝔬𝔯𝔱 𝔲𝔫𝔦𝔠𝔬𝔡𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔥 𝔣𝔬𝔫𝔱. and it's a matter of time.
things evolve. once the 𝔲𝔫𝔦𝔠𝔬𝔡𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔥 𝔣𝔬𝔫𝔱 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔰 is out of the door, people use it however they like, just like 🤷. Even mathematicians, few would know the difference of ∆ Δ ∂ δ ∑ Σ µ μ.
gitorious.org cert expired. probably a ghost town by now.
Chinese Prosperity Symbols
added to Unicode Cultural Religious Symbols ☭
Christian Feast Symbols
there is these: 🕃 🕄 , meaning Orthodox typicon symbol for lower rank feast.
also 🕀 🕁 🕂. Apparently, there's Orthodox Church, and has ranking of feasts.
and there is 🕅, meaning Orthodox typicon symbol for difficult sections. Apparently used for bible reading or something.
added to Unicode Cultural Religious Symbols ☭
Om Symbol, in Hinduism and Buddhism
🕉 OM SYMBOL. Meaning Almighty God in Hinduism. See also: Unicode Devanagari अ
and here's a 🕉 Om chant song 六字真言頌 six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra “Om mani padme hum”
here's om in tamil: ௐ Unicode Tamil அ
perl6 unicode operators
that guy, Vladimir Voevodsky, i think spend only few years and invented homotopy type theory. So i think one have a chance getting acquainted with the whole logic/proof/foundation if reading say 2 hours for 4 years. Much thanks to @johncarlosbaez for showing me much math.
Unicode BISMILLAH
﷽
added to Unicode Arabic ش
note the word bismillah is in the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody Queen ♪ Bohemian Rhapsody
Category Theorists, Do You Speak Formal Logic?
my complaint about category theory: On wikipedia, even graduate level math subjects, are well written with formal definition given. If i persist, i can see myself understand it after days. Not so with category theory.
e.g. Wikipedia category theory page doesn't give proper definition (maybe it's there, but typically hard to tell). Then, category books tend to talk chapters after chapter informally and drag in lots of wishy washy analogies. i lost patience.
xah talk show 2019-08-01 programing languages and their culture. perl python ruby
JavaScript, why there's no "use js2015" pragma to clean up the language?
binary, hexadecimal, converter (added a tutorial)
camelCase vs snake_case (updated)
See also: Computer Languages Characters Frequency
Perl Books Survey 2002 (updating some dead links)
programing language where you can copy paste any function anywhere
i really want a language where you can copy paste any function definition in any project and use in another project. doesn't seem to exist. For this to work, the function param must encode any dependency, of global var and libs.
for text processing, golang code is 1.5 or 2 times longer than python
for text processing, golang code is 1.5 or 2 times longer than python. python is about 1.5 times longer than emacs lisp.
elisp is shorter due to elisp designed for text processing. no need to deal with bytes, encoding, opening file, file handle, etc, even backup is just turn on a var. and one has cursor position, buffer etc.
python is shorter than golang due to golang is lower level, and typed. much more declaration, handling low level stuff, byte/string conversion, and notorious golang error checking problem.
See also: Text Processing: Emacs Lisp vs Perl
Unix Pipe as Functional Language (minor update)
LISP, What Does Symbolic Language Mean? (Finished update.)
video of Daniel Friedman. programing language researcher
https://vimeo.com/161794995 that's Daniel Friedman, one of the few experts on programing language design. haven't seen him before. #lisp #scheme
programing lang design is mostly a community of amateurs. Because, it has relatively little practical value and little theoretical value, in contrast to actual coding or math.
Xah Talk 2019-07-19 lisp syntax, sexp, meta-expression, Mathematica, meaning of sugar syntax
nested heterogenus data in typed lang. Or, important json data to golang.
run into a problem with golang, or typed lang in general. In json, or python ruby perl JavaScript, you can have arbitrary nested map/array. In golang, you can't due to types. you have to declare or create the structure before hand. How's this done? going to look into.
@kerukeion right. but the issue to me seems to be the declaration part. e.g. i was coding a script, in python etc i'd just code the nesting. But in go, seems i need to first think about, design, then declare, the structure first. am now wondering, when importing json, what does go json lib do? gonna look into.
began to read #golang json lib
https://golang.org/pkg/encoding/json/
incomprehensible.
In python you just
python_obj = json.loads(str)
in JavaScript you just
js_obj = JSON.parse(str)
This is interesting issue about typed lang importing structure from dynamic lang.
todo. read about unicode 12
golang tried to have a try
golang tried to have a try https://github.com/golang/go/issues/32437
if golang start to have a try or even the jargon “exception”, i'll stop using golang. i'd rather type if err != nil { panic(err) } every 10 lines.
which programing language is easier to learn?
golang ≿ ruby ≿ php ≿ scheme ≿ python ≿ emacs lisp ≿ JavaScript ≿ java ≿ clojure ≿ perl ≿ ocaml ≿ haskell
which programing language has best doc?
golang ≿ ruby ≿ php ≿ scheme ≿ java ≿ emacs lisp ≿ perl ≿ clojure ≿ python ≿ ocaml ≿ haskell ≿ JavaScript
which programing language is more popular?
java ≿ JavaScript ≿ php ≿ python ≿ ruby ≿ golang ≿ perl ≿ clojure ≿ ocaml ≿ haskell ≿ scheme ≿ emacs lisp
which programing language is more powerful or expressive (but remain readable)? This one is hard to say.
ruby ≿ scheme ≿ python ≿ perl ≿ php ≿ JavaScript ≿ clojure ≿ golang ≿ java ≿ ocaml ≿ haskell ≿ emacs lisp.
by the way, the only way to know and judge a programing language is to actually learn it and code it for say 6 months. Years of reading other people's blogs are useless, unless the gap or nature is big, such as C vs haskell.
todo. to read. https://github.com/golang/go/wiki/SliceTricks
todo
https://twitter.com/xah_lee/status/1149475035733565440
https://hackage.haskell.org/package/pipes-4.3.11/docs/Pipes-Tutorial.html
Proliferation of Computing Languages updated.
in APL, A ⍟ B means Logarithm of B to base A. I think APL's symbolic operators rather idiotic.
todo. question for haskell coders. Say I need to gen a list of file paths, 50k of them. I can var global mylist; and f(root) to populate it. But if f is pure function we do mylist = f(root), it double memory requirement. How does pure func lang code this?
todo move conicsEtynomogy.txt
fuck emoji
youtube-dl --update, be careful!
when you use youtube-dl --update you have to be careful. because who knows if author changed or got brought out.
haskell making invalid state not representable by type
- haha, nice try. The last item is a pipe dream.
- actually, it's impossibe to always auto fix error too.
- in fact, nor is it possible to always suggest fix.
- Gussing what's wrong can't be done neither.
- Actually any semantic program logic error can't be fixed by language.
- by god, syntactic error is theoretically impossible to remove too when you move semantics into syntax such as haskell.
semi functional languages, JavaScript, golang, for loop problem
when coding in a semi functional language, eg JavaScript or golang, you have the problem of avoiding for loop but can't. In golang u just can't. In js it's more complicated. ① map/forEach etc are loop by spec. ② iterable don't have forEach method unless you convert to array.
See also: Programing Language: Syntactic and Semantic Difference of Map Function
unicode missing emoji version of plain red heart
you have
- ♡ U+2661: WHITE HEART SUIT
- ♥ U+2665: BLACK HEART SUIT
That's why only some website make them emoji, cuz if in poker context, rendering it as emoji would be wrong. So you have this abominational situation where you need to insert a modifier char to make it emoji.
🖤 U+1F5A4: BLACK HEART ❤ U+2764: HEAVY BLACK HEART ♡ U+2661: WHITE HEART SUIT ♥ U+2665: BLACK HEART SUIT so, completely, comprehensively, confounding! the abomination of unicode.
todo
todo
Indent Free Coding Style
am starting to have a new coding style, indentless style
golang, low level lang, require you to code lots basic functions and for every input type
one thing annoying about go is that you have to write little functions, like print array by line. and you have to write this for each type of array, string, struct. very tedious.
What's Mathematica's Pattern Matching
this is the symbol in unicode that came from Mathematica ⧴ U+29F4: RULE-DELAYED
In Mathematica, there are 2 mechanisms for computation. ① by function. (like other langs) ② rule based syntactic transformation. You define a bunch of transformation rules. Then, when expression is eval'd, it transform by known rules until result don't change.
Mathematica rule transformation, aka pattern matching, is like regex, but on source code instead of string. Or, like parsing and grammar in BNF. Or, think of lisp macro as a primitive example. Note, SYMBOLIC pattern matching is very different in nature from haskell ocaml etc on type.
me = sleep(⏾, 😪, 😴 , 💤, 🛌);
u👷 = goto work(😪+😟+😵 💨 💪 🚗 🏭 🗩 🗪 🗫 🗬 🗭 📈 📉 🗮 🗯 💢 🔥 🤬 💩);
todo look into unicode
PᗣᗧMᗣN
ᗧ ᗣ
why reference is harmful
with more experience of golang, i find that it's not as high level as perl python ruby lisp bash. kinda middle, between those and C. golang code is some 1.3 times longer than python. Dealing with “references vs copy” is more pronounced.
the concept of “reference”, is truly the worst concept in programing. It is the number 1 source of bugs. I got stung by it in golang since yester. 4 hours spent so far. unable yet to describe what's going on clearly.
things like references, int, float, double, etc, is what i call software engineering side effect; underneath mumble jumble. typically, the gaggle of industrial programers are excited by these. Thus, the current fad of rust.
the problem of references shows up most when you deal things like “slice”/assignment of array/list (or nested) and trying to modify it. Result is one bag of transparent spaghetti.
one obvious way to fix the reference confusion, is to make it always explicit. so, instead of var x = [3,4,5], make it x = ref([3,4,5]). something like that.
This is the reference problem of golang:
var aa = sliceX[:n] var bb = append(aa, 3) // sliceX is now modified, it has 3 at pos n. wtf!
to fix the code, one has to start to make copy of things. to fix this in low level langs, am thinking, make ALL ref explicit? so that programer always know which is a copy or not. i understand ref is necessary in low level langs, but the implicit confusion is what i object to.
golang slice append problem. very subtle.
updated
Unicode Bullet • Check Mark ✓ Dagger †, Trade Mark ™☙
updated
Unicode in Function Names and Operator Symbol
major update
math in JavaScript. doesn't taste good
this is when you need math langs, e.g. Julia, APL, Mathematica, Matlab. syntax matters.
screw programing langs that do not allow ⊕ in function names. e.g. JavaScript python golang java. those allow includes perl, ruby, emacs lisp, Mathematica.
fsf and open source has become a ideology weapon of big money corps, championed by google apple now Microsoft, with code of conduct. Each programmer is robbed into nothingness. only way to live is work for these corps.
why i love golang
- it is a simple, direct, language. Simpler than python, ruby, JavaScript, PHP.
- it is a widely used. Tons of golang jobs. (not niche, e.g. haskell, ocaml, lisp, etc.)
- it support practical functional programing well. (function can return function or as args.)
- it is fast. comparable to C, C++.
- golang doc is the best. Clear, concise, well organized, easy to find stuff.
- it can be run as high-level lang like python, ruby (with auto memory management). Write code and run it without compiling step.
- golang is also compiled like C, C++ . You can send compiled blob to friends, and it runs in any OS without installing golang.
- golang is also (designed as) a low-level system lang like C, C++ . You can use it to do network programing, drivers, servers.
- It support concurrent programing well, by a simple, easy-to-understand model of goroutine.
updated
Urbit, Decentralized Server Platform
i wonder how Curtis Yarvin a.k.a. Mencius Moldbug is doing.
i never understood what curtis yarvin is saying. he likes to play with writing with holier than thou tone, but am not sure any understand. i think only yhose who studied political history for few years. also, he's got a thing against Noam Chomsky. what gives?
Curtis Yarvin left urbit https://urbit.org/posts/a-founders-farewell/
intro to urbit https://urbit.org/primer/
“we created urbit to leave internet behind”
the official urbit intro is confusing, even to experienced programmers. wikipedia intro is better https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbit
Urbit is a decentralized personal server platform. Each person (a programer), runs it on his own machine. This system, replaces centralized cloud servers such as amazon, google. But also, replaces all web apps such as facebook, twitter, slack, etc, whole internet.
Urbit is a decentralized OS, written from scratch since 2002. The OS is called Arvo, written in new functional langs Noon and Nock. Address space based on Ethereum blockchain. Communication is encrypted p2p using UDP.
blogs as history, and nature of dead links
Google Chrome, SPDY Protocol, Browser War II
when you write blogs, you leave a trail of history. This is year 2010. Sometimes, even you forgot what you were talking about.
looking back 10 years ago, Google's tens of sites singing html5/webgl/webworker etc are now dead link. i used to hate dead urls. But now, i realize it's a necessary fact of life. Links living forever (say just 10 years), is not just an ideology, but impossible.
vast majority of websites, serves a commercial purpose. (e.g demo of html5, tutorial of tech now 10 years old, etc.) When that purpose is gone, or the company gone, link becomes dead, and necessarily so.
programing video goes dinosaur
looking back at some videos from 2012, 2013 etc, JavaScript tech talk. lol. millions of programing related videos must've gone dinosaur. this is new. before, only programing text or books, go dinosaur.
new version control system. written in rust https://pijul.org/
package manager for Microsoft Windows, scoop, chocolatey
seems there are lots new package managers for Microsoft Windows
new nav box
Unicode, Encoding, Escape Sequence, Issues
- Unicode Symbol for “e.g.” (exempli gratia)
- Semantics and Symbols: Examples of Unicode Symbols Usage
- Semantic of Symbol: Unicode Ellipsis Symbol vs Dot Dot Dot
- Problems of Symbol Congestion in Computer Languages; ASCII Jam vs Unicode
- Computer Language Design: String Syntax
- Syntax Design: Use of Unicode Matching Brackets as Specialized Delimiters
- Unicode Semantics: the ∀ in Turn A Gundam
- URL Percent Encoding and Unicode
- URL Percent Encoding and Ampersand Char
- Semantic of Symbols: HTML Entities, Ampersand, Unicode
some testimonial for my stuff. I need to put them somewhere. put it here for now.
Just need to say. I love @xah_lee website. Choc full of useful info of useful information.
2017-04-23 https://twitter.com/fleontrotsky/status/856217970913271809
A lot of content here: http://xahlee.info/index.html Very impressive! By @xah_lee
2017-04-19 https://twitter.com/leifbattermann/status/854592033452945409
Yep. I'm Nigerian programmer living in Nigeria. I really enjoy your articles on ergonomics, emacs, programming languages etc
2017-04-20 https://twitter.com/SegunOlulana/status/855047691692199936
unicode lambda is named lamda, no b
interesting that in unicode, lambda is named lamda. However, there is a char named lambda: ƛ LATIN SMALL LETTER LAMBDA WITH STROKE
see Unicode: Greek Alphabet α β γ
here's interesting things about lambda
apparently, it's pronunced with b in ancient times.
pronunciation as [laːbdaː] (λάβδα) in Classical Greek times. In Modern Greek the name of the letter, Λάμδα, is pronounced [lamða].
also note, its relation with Latin letter L and Phoenician letter Lamd 𐤋 and the Cyrillic letter El Л л
copy a directory sans .git
this sucks major. there is still no command to copy a dir sans .git. unix cp command can't do neither.
added insult is that golang no have copy dir builtin.
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