Operators for everything (was Re: Operators for matrix)

[Greg Ewing]

John Lull wrote:
> 
> That problem extends far beyond linear algebra, & an ideal solution
> would be applicable to any problem domain in which infix notation is
> greatly preferable.

I second this. The matrix people are being accused of being
selfish by requesting core language extensions for their
particular domain. But that's not what they're asking for
at all.

Python with its overloadable operators can be thought of
as a meta-language for creating domain-specific languages.
But the number of operators is too restricted for it to
be really good in this role. Operator overloading feels like
something tacked on as an afterthought rather than a
serious feature. I don't think it's unreasonable
to consider whether this situation could be improved.

Personally, I think that language that's serious about 
user-defined operators and mathematical domains should 
allow the use of every operator character in the Symbol
font. If those characters are useful enough to be included 
in a standard font, I think they deserve to be available in 
a programming language, too!

In fact, I may just make this my next Python enhancement
project. Anyone know where I can get a Unicode-aware
editor for Mac or Unix?

-- 
Greg Ewing, Computer Science Dept, University of Canterbury,	  
Christchurch, New Zealand
To get my email address, please visit my web page:	  
http://www.cosc.canterbury.ac.nz/~greg