Text-Oriented Software
Toward a unifying software principle
I am convinced that a fundamental, general concept of text will provide a sound principle for computing. The current systems mistake the text for a string of characters. That is a useful implementation, indeed —it made even possible for Gutenberg to print books—, but that does not hit the mark. I am seeking for a definition of text not as representation (characters), but as inner structure (parsed text). This is not only an interesting intellectual and scientific challenge, but it will also provide a ground for software integration that will lead to deeply unified computer systems far beyond the current ones. I perceive this approach as a way to escape the current Tower of Babel in computing and to open up new promising paths.
Hervada-Sala, Francesc: Text-Oriented Software. Toward a Unifying Software Principle, 1st edition, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, March 2010
ISBN 978-1-4505-3873-2
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Copyright
Text-Oriented Software. Copyright © 2010 Francesc Hervada-Sala. All rights reserved.
This book is copyright covered and may not be reproduced in part or whole, or placed in a retrieval system without permission of the author.
Errata
- Page 13, at beginning of last paragraph ”Instead of a defining a unit“ should be ”Instead of defining a unit.“
Preface
Text
Introducing a fundamental text structure
Text Structure
Definition of Text
Comparing Text to Other Structures
Using Text in Software
Text Query
Text Query Languages
Languages
Text and Languages
Text-Orientation
The Principle
Imagine
Let us imagine a text-oriented landscape
Text-Oriented IDE
How could a text-oriented IDE look and feel?
Text-Oriented Programming Languages
Language innovation
Files and Text
Text as data integrator
Programs and Text
Text as programs integrator
Text-Oriented Compiling
How compiling could work
Case Studies
Sample: Program Parameters
Unix: A Text-Aware Environment
Universaltext Interpreter
Background
Introductory notes
