On 3/27/14 7:34 PM, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> As for enormous number of users who will have
> difficulty typing √ in their source code, they certainly don't count!
> It's good enough that *you* have a solution to that problem, you can type
> alt-v, and anyone who can't simply doesn't matter.

You have an interesting point here; more interesting perhaps than you know.

We have a unicode system [1] capable of zillions of characters, and most of [us] have some qwerty system keyboard [104 keys?] with meta key mappings for a few more. Talk about the cart before the horse.

We need a standard input system not controlled by Microsoft where-by everyone in the entire world can enter unicode (with customization) easily and inexpensively. A unicode keyboard would be nice. Why must everyone in the world be stuck with a U.S. Royal typewriter keyboard for two or three hundred years? Dvorak had the right idea; but it didn't stick (although I have a Dvorak key mapping I use (with emacs) just for fun).

I do care, Steven. You'll never ever hear me say "screw" somebody, not because I'm holier than thou, but because everyone counts--everyone.

Your point about the biologist is fabulous (my point as well), "I didn't study biology for six years to wash test tubes and program computers, but it comes with the territory". Steven, dude, you proved my point with that. Most biologists (academics particularly) are studying systems that require computers these days--- and the scientists in that field DO want to program computers (I didn't say love) and the "want" is powerful. I didn't say that they "liked it" either. Somehow a biologist needs to be able to talk to that goofy machine (which they hate) and be able to do so efficiently and I dare say rapidly. There needs to be a system for them; general, easy, elegant yet comprehensible, flexible yet unified, discrete, simplified (without being oversimplified). wow. Talk development requirements.

marcus


[1]  http://www.unicode.org/standard/where/
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