(let (me Program!))

My second app letter

2007-11-10T17:06:00.000+08:00

I wrote this `diary' based on the thought of
"The stranger, the better" :)

Tuesday, Mar 6, 2007 Fine

/* 7:30 AM */ So tired last night! Until 3:00 AM I wrote programs! So late my computer teacher told me that I could take part in that IT competition - only five days I have until to submit my work... I stepped into the school with these complains in my head.
'Good moning, Dr. Yuan!' I raised my head and saw that classmates who on duty standing by the school gate were smiling to me. Suddenly I remembered: I have to teach classmates "Intro. to JavaScript" today. Yet another work...
/* 2:15 PM */ 'Well, today we are going to learn the "JavaScript" programing language, the most misunderstood language in the world. Write down new technical terms, please...' I have used of this after giving about 5 lectures. It is just another type of rest. '...OK, remember, don't analyze a recursion in the view of state-changing, just proof it by applying mathematical induction. OK, I will ask you about why this procedure runs so slowly next time!' However, this "rest" did made me thirsty.
/* 5:30, after school */ I decided to leave tonight, I must go home and complete my work. I had accomplished the regular expression replacement part last night, now I'm considering of the functions defination part, which is the most significant part of the implement of my programing language "Mazy".
'I...I want to leave tonight, Miz Xu.' I sad in a unnatural voice.
'Oh, OK. Well, you plan to write your program as soon as you go home, don't you?'
'Ah, yeah... yes.'
'What about your homework? Try to it at midnight but fall asleep?'
'Maybe...'
'Maybe you can finish it rapidly at school. Concentrate on it. Is it a better plan? In my memory, you haven't leave night-studies at all. By the way, how about your work?'
'It'll be the best.' I left and attended the night-study.
/* 8:00 */ Fortunately, I finished my homework. I used the remainder of the time to teach my two prentices Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs.
'Ye! Zhou! Have you two done your homework? Sit closer. It's time to learn SICP!' I opened the book.
/* 9:00, way home */ Sky, black sky. Lights, orange light. We, god created. Laughter, we produced. So lucky I am, at least I can laugh with friends. Many adults have no real smile, I known, and I won't be one of them.
'Good luck, Yuan. I have read your Mazy Guide. If you finish it, I'll be the first user!' Ye said to me.

Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 Dark

/* 3:00 AM */ I think I need some coffee... I have traced this strange bug for two hours - the function that the translater constructed can never be actived. The codes seems right, but the object couldn't be called. I stared at the shell, the characters were dancing... Have I failed?
"If you finish it, I'll be the first user!"
Of course you are. A good programer will never abandon his program, can a man like me who determines to be a computer scientist surrenders to his codes? No pattern match, no static type inference, if such a simple programing language I can't handle, how can I invent a language that superior to Haskell? I was born to win. Redesign this part.
/* 4:00 */ The new function-producing frame works, after I rewrited at least 100 lines codes. Sleep.

-- ZhiHao Yuan

My first app letter

2007-11-10T17:00:00.000+08:00

The most CRAZY application letter I had written.

I am a crazy computer science learner, so I decide to apply for MIT (No hope now :).
As a young talented student who be fascinated by the formal semantics of programing languages, compiling principle, functional programing and type system, I had to scheme for my future as any Chinese student else does, to prepare the local university entering examination (GaoKao). But I abjure it, under the reason that most of the people who familiar with me express their opinion that I should enter an abroad university to study with the best students of computer science rather than stay in a local one to wait for to waste my gift. They are right.
In the China-style high school, GaoKao is an exam without computer test, unfortunately, it is the only aim on which students focus. I was learning algorithm and data structure while the useless computer class was teaching how to use Word, I was reading Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP, I have done half of exercises in it), my favorite book, while my classmates were preparing endless tests. After school, I chose 4(Haskell, Scheme, JavaScript and Python) of 32 languages I learned to express my thinking on those exercises or implement my own design.
Not only I learn programing languages, but also I research, I invent, I love. Actually, the number of the programing languages that most of Chinese students even who had taken the "professional" programing education can use is less than that I completely analyzed their definition documents*. Among these docs, I attempted to translate the JS definition - ECMA-262 of ECMAScript into Chinese. During the translation, I mat several friends on the Internet, and they suggested many useful advises and helped me to check my works. An international student even taught me some translation skills and kept on to encourage me to continue. Although I had to pause the work because of to prepare the TOEFL/SAT, I did experienced the power of cooperation.
Known of these, I start another program, to create a new programing language**. I had tried to construct a Scheme-like one six months ago without anyone's help, I failed. I chose a syntax that easier to apply regular expressions to interpret it into JavaScript codes instead of one that I must write a lexer manually. I asked my students (a irony truth, I teach three classmates SICP) to comment on the semantics and test programs and my computer teacher to assess its REPL interface. Finally, I completed it. This experience really gave me a great confidence though it is not a challenge to me now.
With these experience and some knowledge of Lambda-Calculus, I decided to turn into a broader academic world rather than stop crouching in my small tech-blog***. I took part in the mail list of Haskell-cafe and build the first functional programing group on the famous Chinese technical website 'JavaEye.com', it has been success. Login the Internet to often turned me into a man of few words in real world, but instead, I achieved so much. We can look for the truth during debating, meet many wise people whom we can learn from a lot. The most significant benefit is, we can rediscovery ourselves. I had known that I do not like Chemistry and I am well at Maths and History, so I was amazing about I like to appreciate artworks, modern art and animation. However, I use major of my online-time to shares knowledge with web-mates, for example, to recommend some books and essays, solve problems and try to design some programing models, e.g.
Through many exchanges with other learners, I aware the appropriate future to me: Attend to MIT, and study computer science with new friends. - That is our wish.

* Definitionary documents of programing languages that I read:
LISP 1.5 Programmer's Manual: John McCarthy
Revised5 Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme
ECMAScript Language Specification: Standard ECMA-262 2nd
Python Reference Manual: Guido van Rossum

** I name it "Mazy", short for "Math Lazy",
it's an simple Math-syntax-style functional programing language.
Example code, a function returns the length of a list:
len' (ls) =
0, nil
len'(ls--) + 1.
Where ``ls--'' is as same as ``(cdr ls)'' is Scheme.

*** If a Chinese professor can be found in MIT, my cyber-life will be viewable:
About Mazy: (http://www.douban.com/group/topic/1612055/)
My main blog: (http://let-in.blogspot.com)
JavaEye blog: (http://lichray.javaeye.com)
The FP Group: (http://wfp.group.javaeye.com)

-- ZhiHao Yuan

Why doesn't I discuss social issues?

2007-08-16T00:38:00.000+08:00

Social issues, as my webmeter lipingtababa says, is one of the Eternal topics to our human beings. But in past 4 years, since I becomed an cyber-worm, I havn't discuss social issues.
In addition, I am a skillful debater since I was 12, I had debated with most of my teachers who wanted to punished me in a excessively way that I couldn't allowed. And I wrote a lot of comments on social issues, too.
So why doesn't I discuss social issues? One reason is I prefer to spend more energy on to study computer, but the significant reason is, I do not think that to discuss social issues can change them. Problems are such complex thing that can not be splited by thoerys, the process of developing of human beings is a natural one that can not be handled by discussing and talking，segmently, with our keyboard and lips.
My webmeter lipingtababa invited me to take part in the group of Southern Weekend magazine, so I went, and I saw the useless discussing again. The group as stupid as anyone else is, the discussing about social issues, sex, political problems there are just wasting time. Actually, a knowledgeable people who can decompose a thing in a clear way may also explain it confuss, in other words, unable to debate, while a stupid people who can not analyze a thing may make a eloquent.
I do not want to waste my time on these lips-based things. Alan Kay says, 'The best way to predict the future is to invent it', and I do it. The best way to change the world is to build it, by your hands instead of lips.

The Dream of the Sky

2007-06-16T20:12:00.000+08:00

Like birds, our human beings live in the sky, which is a sky of our dreams.Somebody flies in the sky of business, and making money is the thing that they're doing for a living; somebody flies in an sky of art, and completing a wonderful artwork is their dream; somebody, which cares about humans' furture, flies in an sky of sciense, uses their creation to draw on the canvas of our lives.
I'm a student, but I can not fly in the sky of my school, though it's a space with the allowance of to fly and actually some of my friends can. I fly in the Internet.
I am a free bird on the Internet. I fly in the skies of programing on the network, such as forums, blogs and mail-lists. Our programers exchange our code and articles in these ways. Last week, I joined in the website called 'JavaEye', where so many high-level programers joined. My first article becomed a 'Good Article' and my second one becomed 'Classic Article', as a result of my hard-working.
However, it's an unreal world. Nobody konws who you are, or where you live. You can't share your feeling with others except you don't care. Sometimes, I look at the real sky, for a few minites. I will fly in a real world of computer sciense, I think.

TIOBE for June 2007

2007-06-05T17:54:00.000+08:00

The index can be used to check whether your programming skills are still up to date or to make a strategic decision about what programming language should be adopted when starting to build a new software system. The definition of the TIOBE index can be found here.

The Ruby programing language increased a lot that as much as 9 positions. So ugly! It's a lang that invented by Japanese!

The langs at positions 1 to 6 hasn't change. They are Java, C, C++, Basic(my gosh! What an ugly language!), PHP, and Perl. Among these langs, Perl is my favourate. All of these langs are Procedural Languages except Perl, witch is a powerfull, self-completely language. Unfortunately, it's too complex, so I have to take too much time on it.

My favourate programing language, Scheme, still stay at 15th pos. It is not only a powerful language but also led me to the world of Computer Sicence. I'm loven it.

JavaScript, I use it a lot, increase only 1 position. Python surprised me, it droped down 1 pos!

The D programing language inceased a num of 4. It is a new System-programing language. Maybe I'll use it in my project in the future.

C, D, and E. The E programing language is not in the list of top 100 programing languages. What a pity! But Lua, Lua only 0.003% away from top 20 position, that's good news. I'm a skillful Lua programer, too.

Erlang is a brand-new platform, witch is at 49th. Dylan has a new ideal on syntax transforming. It is at 50th.

After all, there is an table some long term trends are listed about categories of languages. The tables show that dynamically typed object-oriented languages are still becoming more popular.

Pray for Scheme! Pray for Haskell!