Re: New XPL Instruction Manual at XyWWWeb

[Russ Urquhart russurquhart1@xxxxxxxx]

Hi Robert, et all


On Jan 24, 2006, at 5:29 PM, Robert Holmgren wrote:

** Reply to message from Russ Urquhart 
on Tue, 24
Jan 2006 15:07:33 -0600

(I wonder, when Dave designed it, if, internally, there isn't some
sort of mapping of the XPL commands to the PC assembly op codes?)

Of course! I've said this a hundred times: the functions *are* identical to
the smallest procedures that the word processor performs. They *are* the
elemental particles that make up XyWrite. String them together --
and you get larger actions. Everything you do on the keyboard is made up of
strings of these little particles. It is all UTTERLY familiar to every single
user! They just don't KNOW the *names* of these particles. That's why, with
every msg I send, I try to drum these ideas into peoples' heads (not that it
seems to do much palpable good!): I write "CoPy" "MoVe" "DeFine" "eXeCute"
"CAll" -- why do I do that? Because those are the NAMES of the particles: 
functions CP, MV, DF, XC, command CAll, etc etc etc etc ad nauseum.

I think you do a tireless job of trying to educate us Robert! Kudos
and Thanks!

I was, actually, kind of wondering out loud if, internally at a
hardware level, if some of the XPL commands map to 8086 assembly op
codes? You are correct that these are the elemental particles that
make up Xywrite, but I was wondering if XPL compared to 8086 Assembly
Op Codes. (Which also makes me wonder if Xywrite could then EVER be
ported to another architecture?)
 
It is elegant, it is simple, it is logical, it is intuitive. You
have tables (using the U2 TABLE command) of all the functions, all the
VAriables, all (or almost all) of the commands. You have really good manuals. It's
ALL right there, ready and (mostly just) waiting! One simply needs to muster
the courage to try them out. Somehow, here, people seem to need a dinner break
and a good night's sleep before they can move a  five characters to
the right and hit the  again -- and only, ONLY, when following strict
instructions! Where is intellectual curiosity?

I've done some programming for the specialized things that I need,
and I've only just started looking at the Manual you contributed, but
I think that, for me at least, this is going to open a lot of doors
for me to do more of my own programming in XPL. The language is
elegant, and now, hopefully everything is in one place, right?
Thanks again,

Russ