6 ms·

This reminds me of putting marquees in the window.status like 20 years ago

Tade0 7y ago
The spirit is there definitely. My take is that it's only a matter of time before emojis creep into every area where text is used. Let's hope they won't ever become a mainstream part of programming languages.
- reaperducer 7y ago
  Let's hope they won't ever become a mainstream part of programming languages. If you consider Amp mainstream, or a programming language, it’s already too late.
- Lukas_Skywalker 7y ago
  I created a small library for Ruby/Rails that aliased a few methods with emojis. You could remove database objects by using the gun emoji, or trim a string with the scissors emoji.
  - ioulian 7y ago
    This is pretty neat! Although, if I did it in my company, I would be packing my things very fast.
  - Tade0 7y ago
    I guess yours are at least, in a way, semantic. I've seen attempts where any connection between the symbol and what the method was doing was purely coincidental.
- enriquto 7y ago
  > Let's hope they won't ever become a mainstream part of programming languages. knowing a few people in this world, I am sure that this will certainly happen way before you can have variables named α, β, γ
  - ForHackernews 7y ago
    You can already use Greek letter variable names in Python: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17043894/what-unicode-symbols-are-accepted-in-python3-variable-names https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17043894/what-unicode-sy... I've used θ in code dealing with angles before.
    - enriquto 7y ago
      yes, I want to use them in C. It is possible with clang but, unfortunately, not with gcc. I also want to be able to type them into TeX, both in math mode and in text mode, without much fuss.
      - dubya 7y ago
        \theta doesn't seem that bad. Typing something like \kissyface or \poop seems better than clicking around or typing a numeric code, albeit with the usual name guessing problem. On OS X, and I assume others, you can add items to be automatically replaced, so something like "!t" could become a unicode theta if you want.
    - codedokode 7y ago
      That's a bad idea. How are other developers supposed to type this character (unless they are from Greece)?
      - roblabla 7y ago
        keep it in the copy paste buffer, obviously /s. For an even more extreme version, look at Perl6's atomic operators: https://docs.perl6.org/language/unicode_ascii#Atomic_operators https://docs.perl6.org/language/unicode_ascii#Atomic_operato... (or any other operators on this page for that matter). IMO, it's not a "bad idea". Code is meant to be read, not written. If it renders the code more readable, then that's a win. But obviously, whether those symbols actually make the code more readable is debatable.
        7y ago
- pault 7y ago
  In the book Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson the future working class are functionally illiterate so everything is communicated by emoji. Funny, but also a little bit frightening.
  - tormeh 7y ago
    Eh, emoji is just pictographic script anyway.
- toastking 7y ago
  I remember a few years back a common hackathon project was to use lex and yacc to make emoji languages. It was always cool to see what people do with that. Maybe there will be an APL or something with emoji.
- sfoley 7y ago
  It’s too late. My company has a database where the name is the sunglasses emoji.
- dguo 7y ago
  Check out Emojicode: https://www.emojicode.org/ https://www.emojicode.org/ "Emojicode is an open-source, full-blown programming language consisting of emojis."
  - aasasd 7y ago
    Tell ya what, there's a Lisp dialect made with emojis.
- wongarsu 7y ago
  The most-used emojis are designed as a language of emotions, making them ill-suited for most programming projects. But that doesn't mean that there aren't emojis that would be very useful in programming. Emojis just aren't used because we lack good input methods for them (outside of smartphones)
- RandallBrown 7y ago
  Swift lets you use any unicode characters, so emoji are perfectly valid variable names. I've seen some "cute" github projects that use them, but they're obviously not for real life use since emojis are tough to type.
  - intuitionist 7y ago
    Purescript does the same thing (some people like using Unicode symbols for “forall” and function arrows) and it’s also led to amusing github goofs: https://github.com/i-am-tom/purescript-prelewd https://github.com/i-am-tom/purescript-prelewd
- tracker1 7y ago
  Agreed... though, I'd imagine the mostly us-ascii centric programming model might be harder for some foreign languages. The worst, for me, as an example is when I see a special non-us character for JS examples as the assigned variable for a library. edit: on the flip side, it's pretty cool for passphrases (where allowed)

The spirit is there definitely. My take is that it's only a matter of time before emojis creep into every area where text is used. Let's hope they won't ever become a mainstream part of programming languages.

reaperducer 7y ago
Let's hope they won't ever become a mainstream part of programming languages. If you consider Amp mainstream, or a programming language, it’s already too late.
Lukas_Skywalker 7y ago
I created a small library for Ruby/Rails that aliased a few methods with emojis. You could remove database objects by using the gun emoji, or trim a string with the scissors emoji.
- ioulian 7y ago
  This is pretty neat! Although, if I did it in my company, I would be packing my things very fast.
- Tade0 7y ago
  I guess yours are at least, in a way, semantic. I've seen attempts where any connection between the symbol and what the method was doing was purely coincidental.
enriquto 7y ago
> Let's hope they won't ever become a mainstream part of programming languages. knowing a few people in this world, I am sure that this will certainly happen way before you can have variables named α, β, γ
- ForHackernews 7y ago
  You can already use Greek letter variable names in Python: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17043894/what-unicode-symbols-are-accepted-in-python3-variable-names https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17043894/what-unicode-sy... I've used θ in code dealing with angles before.
  - enriquto 7y ago
    yes, I want to use them in C. It is possible with clang but, unfortunately, not with gcc. I also want to be able to type them into TeX, both in math mode and in text mode, without much fuss.
    - dubya 7y ago
      \theta doesn't seem that bad. Typing something like \kissyface or \poop seems better than clicking around or typing a numeric code, albeit with the usual name guessing problem. On OS X, and I assume others, you can add items to be automatically replaced, so something like "!t" could become a unicode theta if you want.
  - codedokode 7y ago
    That's a bad idea. How are other developers supposed to type this character (unless they are from Greece)?
    - roblabla 7y ago
      keep it in the copy paste buffer, obviously /s. For an even more extreme version, look at Perl6's atomic operators: https://docs.perl6.org/language/unicode_ascii#Atomic_operators https://docs.perl6.org/language/unicode_ascii#Atomic_operato... (or any other operators on this page for that matter). IMO, it's not a "bad idea". Code is meant to be read, not written. If it renders the code more readable, then that's a win. But obviously, whether those symbols actually make the code more readable is debatable.
      - 7y ago
pault 7y ago
In the book Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson the future working class are functionally illiterate so everything is communicated by emoji. Funny, but also a little bit frightening.
- tormeh 7y ago
  Eh, emoji is just pictographic script anyway.
toastking 7y ago
I remember a few years back a common hackathon project was to use lex and yacc to make emoji languages. It was always cool to see what people do with that. Maybe there will be an APL or something with emoji.
sfoley 7y ago
It’s too late. My company has a database where the name is the sunglasses emoji.
dguo 7y ago
Check out Emojicode: https://www.emojicode.org/ https://www.emojicode.org/ "Emojicode is an open-source, full-blown programming language consisting of emojis."
- aasasd 7y ago
  Tell ya what, there's a Lisp dialect made with emojis.
wongarsu 7y ago
The most-used emojis are designed as a language of emotions, making them ill-suited for most programming projects. But that doesn't mean that there aren't emojis that would be very useful in programming. Emojis just aren't used because we lack good input methods for them (outside of smartphones)
RandallBrown 7y ago
Swift lets you use any unicode characters, so emoji are perfectly valid variable names. I've seen some "cute" github projects that use them, but they're obviously not for real life use since emojis are tough to type.
- intuitionist 7y ago
  Purescript does the same thing (some people like using Unicode symbols for “forall” and function arrows) and it’s also led to amusing github goofs: https://github.com/i-am-tom/purescript-prelewd https://github.com/i-am-tom/purescript-prelewd
tracker1 7y ago
Agreed... though, I'd imagine the mostly us-ascii centric programming model might be harder for some foreign languages. The worst, for me, as an example is when I see a special non-us character for JS examples as the assigned variable for a library. edit: on the flip side, it's pretty cool for passphrases (where allowed)