Bityi/GSoC

Note:

This page is currently under heavy work. I plan to have a presentable version by 24:00 UTC, March 25th, and probably before then.

The basic idea

Why can you only program in English-based programming languages? Why can't people to program in something much closer to their own natural language, but have the resulting program be fully portable?

Why does OLPC need this?

If you intend to have a "view source" key that lets any user modify their applications (and more); if you are shipping to the non-English-speaking world; and if the target audience is ALL children; then you need this. Arguably, any two of these factors would not require localized coding; but the combination of all three does.

But...

• Many non-native English speakers are programmers, and they will generally tell you that English was not a barrier to learning programming for them. After all, "raise string(variable)", while it is composed of English words, makes as much English sense as "lift twine(capricious)".

• • That's true, but these are a pretty self-selected group. If you intend to expose / teach all the children in a country to programming, forcing them to do it in a foreign language is going to be a significant hurdle. Also, even if the language hurdle is, in retrospect, a minor one, it comes at the very outset of learning to program. Experience in widely varying areas shows consistently that removing initial barriers can have a disproportionate effect on participation.

• Anyone who aspires to be a good programmer will eventually want to learn at least some English anyway.

• • Exactly. By letting more people get a taste of programming, you will let more people aspire to be good programmers. The end result will be more people learning more English, not the reverse; but along the way, this will also be encouraging viable communities based in non-English languages too.

• This has been attempted before, and it has failed.

• • Apple tried to do something similar with Appletalk in the 90s. That was before Wikipedia - before the principle of "many hands make light work" was really operational on the web. I believe that if a tool makes creating and sharing translations easy, the translations will happen. (There are other ways I believe I've learned from their mistakes too.)