[Jprogramming] Demise of @ and [: debate

[William Tanksley, Jr]

Raul Miller <rauldmiller at gmail.com> wrote:
> It's probably best to explain that * is a different operation than the
> multiplication operator which is frequently taught in schools (though
> it is closely related).  You can implement the familiar operation
> using J, but there's a reason for its design and it's in the student's
> best interest to understand the distinctions.

I wouldn't say that the * operator is implemented differently; I would
explain that the notation is designed to be truly general purpose and
simple, whereas math notation is special-purpose (and therefore only
simple when you're sticking to its narrow purpose).

> Raul

-Wm