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Re: User interface, TeXmacs and Axiom (was: Re: [Axiom-developer] backup
From: |
Ralf Hemmecke |
Subject: |
Re: User interface, TeXmacs and Axiom (was: Re: [Axiom-developer] backups) |
Date: |
Thu, 13 Apr 2006 18:16:12 +0200 |
User-agent: |
Thunderbird 1.5 (X11/20051201) |
On 04/13/2006 02:35 PM, David MENTRE wrote:
2006/4/13, Ralf Hemmecke <address@hidden>:
But you cannot expect someone to implement something in a not-so-robust
system which doesn't let you track bugs easily.
In a short summary, what would you like to have?
Hmm, actually, I cannot speak much about Axiom, but whether it's Aldor
or Axiom doesn't matter that much. I am missing a debugger that let's
you run a program step by step and shows the corresponding source code
in an editor like window. All newer IDEs have this feature.
Yes I know that one should rather think before one programs and I also
like the work of Christian Aistleitner quite a lot
http://www.risc.uni-linz.ac.at/software/aldor/aldorunit
But sometimes it's also quite useful if you can comfortably step through
your code, showing variables and everything.
Well and for Aldor the biggest problem is that the compiler is buggy.
One never knows whether the bug is in your own source or in the
compiler. There is definitely need for improvement.
For Axiom I remember that it sometimes showes strange error messages or
suggests that you should debug in BOOT. A user should actually never see
anything else than Aldor/SPAD. When I started with Axiom, I was always
disappointed when I saw the BOOT prompt. And even though I know some
lisp, that frightens me if I want to do Algebra and I end up in LISP.
I hope it was short enough. Hmmm, I think I should add something to the
Axiom WishList. ;-)
I am not only speaking of Axiom, but there is definitely need for a
>> better user interface.
I agree, even if the current text interface is not that bad.
But Axiom does not yet have something like a worksheet format. That was
the reason why I referred to Texmacs.
We might end up in getting an interface to write live pamphlet files.
But I guess, that is a bit tricky, since all the <<...>> chunks are
somehow like macros and thus the code does not need to appear in the
order you write.
> Do not forget that somebody is working on a web interface (with Tim?).
Can I already see something that works? Or is that still unfinished?
I cannot remember that I heard a release announcement.
Although I am not yet a big fan of Texmacs, because it is yet another
language (besides LaTeX) to learn, I somehow think that it should become
a more integrated into axiom and become the default userinterface.
I like TeXmacs *but* it has some big issues for me, one of the biggest
being it is quite slow (the interface is not snappy enough).
Well, yes, that TeXmacs is slow also disturbed me quite a lot, but Axiom
needs to have something comparable to M&M for it's interface.
You could say, that AxiomWiki is something like a worksheet format, but
it is a bit inconvenient to work with, if you always have to press the
edit button.
Ralf