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Literate programming comes up every so often on HN. Here is a past discussion asking why didn't it catch on, [1]. I like the idea of reproducible reports, the a

by todd8 10y ago

Literate programming comes up every so often on HN. Here is a past discussion asking why didn't it catch on, [1]. I like the idea of reproducible reports, the apparent motivation of the OP, which is a bit different emphasis than literate programming. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10069748 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10069748

agravier 10y ago
I think that it did catch on, mainly under the form of iPython notebooks.
- todd8 10y ago
  Yes, the iPython notebooks are great for reproducible reports. Literate programming, as practiced by Knuth, is a little bit different. The program's output, graphs, tables, etc. isn't intermixed with the text as it is in a Jupyer notebook. A literate program is actually documentation and source mixed together in a web file. Two different programs (tangle and weave) can be run over this literate code. One extracts a (LaTeX) document suitable for publication and the other extracts a program (with all of the documentation stripped out) to be fed into a compiler. The best example I know of is Computers & Typesetting, Volume B: TeX: The Program [1], a 624 page book that is a complete exposition on the TeX program, generated by weave; the same web source run through tangle generates the TeX program itself (the typesetting program upon which LaTeX is built out of TeX macros). Knuth is a fan of this method of program construction. Of course, he is not only a phenomenal programmer; he is a great writer skilled at explaining complex algorithms and code. I can see why literate programming suits him. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Computers-Typesetting-B-TeX-Program/dp/0201134373/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1472702616&sr=8-7&keywords=computers+%26+typesetting https://www.amazon.com/Computers-Typesetting-B-TeX-Program/d...
crdoconnor 10y ago
The idea of literate code seems much more suited to tests telling a story than it does for regular code.

by todd8 10y ago

agravier 10y ago

I think that it did catch on, mainly under the form of iPython notebooks.

todd8 10y ago
Yes, the iPython notebooks are great for reproducible reports. Literate programming, as practiced by Knuth, is a little bit different. The program's output, graphs, tables, etc. isn't intermixed with the text as it is in a Jupyer notebook. A literate program is actually documentation and source mixed together in a web file. Two different programs (tangle and weave) can be run over this literate code. One extracts a (LaTeX) document suitable for publication and the other extracts a program (with all of the documentation stripped out) to be fed into a compiler. The best example I know of is Computers & Typesetting, Volume B: TeX: The Program [1], a 624 page book that is a complete exposition on the TeX program, generated by weave; the same web source run through tangle generates the TeX program itself (the typesetting program upon which LaTeX is built out of TeX macros). Knuth is a fan of this method of program construction. Of course, he is not only a phenomenal programmer; he is a great writer skilled at explaining complex algorithms and code. I can see why literate programming suits him. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Computers-Typesetting-B-TeX-Program/dp/0201134373/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1472702616&sr=8-7&keywords=computers+%26+typesetting https://www.amazon.com/Computers-Typesetting-B-TeX-Program/d...

crdoconnor 10y ago

The idea of literate code seems much more suited to tests telling a story than it does for regular code.