Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 20:59:21 -0800
From: Dave Cerf
Subject: Re: Graham Nelson
Combining Graham’s paper with Bret’s most recent talk, I started thinking about what an editing “space” might be like. I like the idea that audio could be tactile in some way—the guy on the right should really be touching that audio, and it shouldn’t be so sharp. Those waveforms look like they could cut you. The video should also be more tangible—it looks like film, in fact. I’m not sure what the gestures or interactions are here, I’m just trying to put things in space instead of on screens.

Other thoughts: perhaps the big image on the screen can be seen from both sides, so people can view it from either side. Humble beginnings from a former assistant editor.

Attachment: EditingSpace.pdf

On Nov 11, 2014, at 4:09 PM, Bret Victor wrote:

Here's the Graham Nelson paper I mentioned last night:

Prompter: A Domain-Specific Language for Versu

His earlier paper about Inform 7:


Both are really good.

That’s what one group of programming-language designers do, but it’s not what I do. My own best-known language, Inform, has never placed higher than number 73 in popularity charts. For comparison, the 73rd most popular human language is Norwegian: but like Norwegian, which of course ranks as number 1 in Norway, Inform is valued within its own domain. It serves a community with speci!c needs which would otherwise be difficult to meet. And that’s the other reason to design a programming language: when there’s an entirely new domain to work in, one where conventional languages just won’t do.