+
Why Literate Programming?
-
+
+
+
+I believe that the time is ripe for significantly better documentation of
+programs, and that we can best achieve this by considering programs to be
+works of literature. Hence, my title "Literate Programming"
+
+
+Let us change our traditional attitude to the construction of programs:
+Instead of imaginging that our main task is to instruct a computer what to do,
+let us concentrate rather on explaining to human beings what we want a
+computer to do.
+
+
+-- Donald Knuth "Literate Programming (1984)" in Literate Programming CSLI, p99
+
+
+The effect of this simple shift of emphasis can be so profound as to change
+one's whole approach to programming. Under the literate programming paradigm,
+the central activity of programming becomes that of conveying meaning to
+other intelligent beings rather than merely convincing the computer to behave
+in a particular way. It is the difference between performing and exposing
+a magic trick.
+
+
+--Ross Williams, FunnelWeb Tutorial Manual, pg 4.
+
+
+The conversation is much more direct if the Design Concept per se,
+rather than derivative representatives or partial details is the focus.
+
+
+--Fred Brooks: The Design of Design: Essays from a Computer Scientist.
+
+
+
Once a program has been developed and the developers have moved
on to other tasks it needs to be maintained. The fundamental problem
is that if you modify code you didn't write, you don't see the big
@@ -145,9 +181,11 @@ pick up the torch. When you explore code, write down what you learn.
When you change code, explain why you made your choices. When you
write new code explain what others need to know to maintain it.
-
-
+
+
+
User documentation
+
The Axiom system is gradually being documented in a set of volumes.
These change with every update to the system since they contain the
diff --git a/src/axiom-website/patches.html b/src/axiom-website/patches.html
index 7663524..278911c 100644
--- a/src/axiom-website/patches.html
+++ b/src/axiom-website/patches.html
@@ -2619,5 +2619,7 @@ src/axiom-website/download.html update available binary list
books/Makefile add bookvol10.5 add Axiom Algebra Numerics
20100405.01.tpd.patch
books/bookvol10.5 add regression and help sections
+
20100406.01.tpd.patch
+src/axiom-website/documentation.html literate programming quotes