Considering programming as re-presentation
First generated on 1 August. Last updated 6 August. This post is marked with an “In-progress” label.
I am continuing to try to build a mental model of how different programs are interrelated, and how they relate to hardware. It is important to me that this be somewhat clear in my mind as background for my book, though the book is taking a different focus. I made an activity chart in Emacs.
I am not sure that I prioritized the information included here over that which I excluded correctly. For example, I did not mention environmnets. These can be: a possible feature of a kernel language, related to closures in pipeline processes, or a feature of shells that can have interfaces. I need to continue to work on my understanding.
The activity chart indicates other areas where I have questions. For example, I am not entirely sure where the kernel begins or ends, but this is in part because I don’t have a clear picture of what I am currently calling (in my ‘personal language’) ‘different levels of compiling’. I also don’t understand which column .NET belongs to: is it possible that it can be in both?
I need to simplify/consolidate the graph. At the moment, it seems the simplest model could be: machine/byte-code -> tree -> program. If you do not want to download it, most browsers have a Zoom function.
Any feedback is welcome. So far, I am the only author of this chart.
The chart can be downloaded:
