Timeline for Why don't we store the syntax tree instead of the source code?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
7 events
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| Nov 13, 2011 at 3:14 | comment | added | Craig Stuntz | In a nutshell, the same logic can be projected into different representations, not all text based, making the rules accessible to non-programmers. E.g., domain experts like actuaries can write the actuarial parts of an insurance application. Like a DSL except not confined to that representation. This is very much related to the question, though. There's a good demo. | |
| Nov 12, 2011 at 15:35 | comment | added | Konrad Rudolph | @Craig Very right. And since it seems to be pretty arcane, care to give a concise explanation of what it offers? But just to make this clear, I was addressing the “benefit” which the OP outlined here, and explain why this doesn’t work. There may well be other benefits, but I fail to see them so far (except for what Peter wrote). | |
| Nov 11, 2011 at 19:18 | comment | added | Craig Stuntz | If you think "There is no benefit," then you have not seen Intentional Software's Domain Workbench. | |
| Nov 11, 2011 at 18:03 | comment | added | Peter Taylor | The real benefit would be the potential to have diff/patch tools which give you a better understanding of what really changed. But that seems to imply needing an entire new toolchain for version control, which is a serious limitation. | |
| Nov 11, 2011 at 14:35 | comment | added | Konrad Rudolph |
@nikie True but you can already do this using reformatting tools – like astyle or UnniversalIndent. No need for arcane binary formats.
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| Nov 11, 2011 at 14:08 | comment | added | nikie | The potential benefit would be that it could end endless debates like "tabs vs. spaces", "unix vs. windows bracing/indentation", "m_ prefixes in front of members or not", because they could be turned into simple IDE options. | |
| Nov 11, 2011 at 12:26 | history | answered | Konrad Rudolph | CC BY-SA 3.0 |