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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: NWI: metaphor needed?
From:       Peter <gostelow () global ! co ! za>
Date:       2009-07-08 4:59:48
Message-ID: 200907080700.10444.gostelow () global ! co ! za
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On Monday 06 July 2009 21:57, Matthew Woehlke wrote:
> Diego Moya wrote:
> > 2009/7/6 Matthew Woehlke wrote:
>
>
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Humane_Interface
> > Canon Cat: Implemented and commercially sold *in 1987*.
> > Nothing new under the sun.
>
> For what it's worth, I disagree with at least the "monotony of design"
> principle. Sounds to me like a great way to be either inflexible,
> inefficient, or difficult-to-learn (or some combination thereof).

If I understand the Canon Cat correctly, it is written in Forth. This is a 
language that includes a compiler, interpreter, and input loop. Apps are 
replaced with a dictionary of words. 'email' is a word that will allow you to 
send and receive email. Users can freely edit the dictionary, creating, 
changing, and removing words. The 'system' is also created from words in the 
dictionary, so users can change those words and hence the way the system 
works. This is the monotony of _design_. 

Everything is based on the ability to create, edit, remove, and execute words 
(functions) in the dictionary, there is no 'system', 'application', or user 
interface, only 'words' (commands). Since the compiler, interpreter, and 
input loop are also 'words', you can change them, too! All changes are 
immediately stored and survive reboots.

However, this is not a GUI that allows you to pipe data through apps.

Regards,

Peter
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