• To find a subject... 1B.

    From Ardith Hinton@1:153/716 to Anton Shepelev on Wed Aug 4 23:52:57 2021
    Hi again, Anton! This is a continuation of my previous message to you:

    [re double spacing]
    *roff -- the oldest and nerdiest document-formatting
    system -- has natural support for it.


    Nice bit of description! While I know very little about programming some of my favourite people are nerds & in my own way I am too... [chuckle].



    It was desinged and implemented by die-hard UNIXoids.


    Ah, well... UNIXoids are a special breed. I take it this system was designed years ago when folks learned double spacing in typing class. And the authors realized some users might want to communicate with others.... :-)



    As my boss told a colleague who asked me to help her
    with transation into English, "Anton is much better
    at translating from Russian into C#."


    Apart from a few typos & misspellings, which you often recognize ten seconds after they've scanned out (as I do with my own), I'm content with your ability to translate between Russian & English. If other people think you can translate better between Russian & C# I'll admit both are beyond my ken, and I congratulate myself when I can decipher "Russian volka" in your alphabet. :-Q



    I know very few programmers who care about their (natural)
    language and have a taste for prose.


    I am reminded here of someone I tutored in the version of grade nine English modified for the "low & slow" class. Years later he was introduced to me as a programmer by his wife, who didn't realize we knew each other already, but I was surprised because everyone else I knew who did programming seemed to be far more intelligent & capable of writing good prose if necessary. I guess the difference was that computerwise they did more advanced stuff too.... :-)



    Their attempts to refactor (to use programming jargon)


    No problem AFAIC. I studied Latin for four years.... :-))



    your text may destroy it. But their optionion of what
    is said wrong and unclear is often correct, only the
    writer should be the one to make amendments!


    Uh-huh. I don't correct every error you & Alexander make because as often as not you'll do it yourself... and in many cases I'm more interested in what you have to say than in how you say it. But I encourage my students & my friends to ask for clarification if they don't understand what I said.... :-)




    --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)