Re: [Axiom-developer] Re: Literate programming

[M. Edward (Ed) Borasky]

Martin Rubey wrote:
> Ralf Hemmecke <address@hidden> writes:
>
>   
>> I wanted an environment that describes theory and the program in connection 
>> to
>> that theory. I didn't have the need to show output of that program. (Well, 
>> not
>> yet.)
>>     
>
> But that's very similar to my request! Namely, integrate MathAction and
> HyperDoc into AllProse. I believe that having only one very powerful yet 
> simple
> file format (i.e., LaTeX and noweb) would make it a lot simpler to write
> documentation.
>   
I'm just now getting down to learning Axiom, and I'm finding HyperDoc
somewhat "counterintuitive" after using Derive heavily, both in the DOS
(character-based) and Windows (GUI) interfaces. As I've noted above, for
my purposes, using TeXmacs as my editor is probably where I'll end up.

Also, when it comes to building products/user interfaces for
non-programmers, some very strict usability considerations apply, and
HyperDoc isn't exactly the sort of interface I'd want to hand to a user
of, say, a performance and availability modeling package. In fact,
building interfaces for *programmers* also has strict usability
considerations. There's a *reason* most interactive development
environments look the same. :)

Contrast HyperDoc with wxMaxima. I downloaded and installed wxMaxima and
within minutes was solving simple equational problems "just like I used
to do in Derive 5". :) The engine is still Maxima, with all its warts
and limitations, but the user interface instantly made sense to me.

-- 
M. Edward (Ed) Borasky

http://linuxcapacityplanning.com