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[on:]

Are there compilers that work in other languages ?

i mean, as far as I know, C language (and every other programming language I 've encountered) is basically English.   And a rapid search with the help of our googly friends didn't tell me more.

Does this mean there simply ARE no non-english compilers ?

The microchips themselves don't care if you type "IF" or "SI" or "ALS" as long as it compiles to the same bit-output...

Which means one could " #define ALS = if " if I'm not mistaken, and so on for every other operator if you would want to make a Dutch Arduino IDE.

[Reply #1 on:]

Does this mean there simply ARE no non-english compilers ?

You know that is a very interesting question, and I don't have a clue if there are any widely used high level programming language that was designed or converted to use a different speaking language. I guess if one was to create enough 'macros from hell' one might very well be able to program in a french speaking version of the C language?

Heck I often consider C/C++ a foreign language already. 

Lefty

[Reply #2 on:]

I think English is the "chosen" language for software for a number of reasons
a) it started out that way
b) as you know, it's not always possible to do a word by word translation from one (natural) language to another, so translation at best would be klunky, at worst as unreadable as English (to a foreigner)

[Reply #3 on:]

All true.

Make no mistake, I'm NOT in favour of creating a multi-lingual compiler or something like that.

i just find it interesting that nobody complains about this, or Tries to change it.   The "real world" doesn't care, the only protests to stuff like that are based on "principles" of people who have no real stake in the matter...  and I'm glad to see programmers are a niche spared from those people ( probably because they haven't figured it out yet or simply don't understand... refer to the importance of a good logical mind as needed in this field)

Background, or I came upon this discussion: I'm Belgian, and as you know (Or SHOULD know ) we have three official languages and a prime minister who speaks only one of those well, French,  the second, Flemish, badly and the third, German, not at all as far as I know.  And this affronts many of the Flemish speakers here. 

Most of whom will never ever need to talk to him in person, so it's actually only a matter of principle, thanks to translation services and the Administrative machine that is a government.

Which I find silly seen as globalisation (unstoppable, wether one likes that or not) causes languages to become more and more regional, in favour of a single worldwide language, which may well turn out to be English.

Sorry Chinese people... you may build most of the chips and whatnots that the world uses, but as this thread shows...  it's English that drives it all....

[Reply #4 on:]

The same is true in Aviation.  English is the spoken language for airlines.  Yes, there are people who are multi-lingual, but if you want to fly the big birds, you must speak English.

[Reply #5 on:]

The same is true in Aviation.  English is the spoken language for airlines.  Yes, there are people who are multi-lingual, but if you want to fly the big birds, you must speak English.

unless you're French , of course!

[Reply #6 on:]

I heard Grace Hopper talk about the origins of COBOL.  She said they first "turned it in" in several languages, but it was rejected for being "too ambitious" or something like that.

C only has about 35 keywords, several of which aren't words ("int"), and others of which are deprecated ("register")
It wouldn't take much to translate the whole thing.

And then there's APL...

[Reply #7 on:]

Per the ICAO, English is required language for Air Traffic Controllers, pilots must be able to converse in English to request clearances, etc.

http://www.icao.int/Pages/default.aspx

[Reply #8 on:]

indeed but France has filed a difference
so all comms between French ATC and French pilots is in French
buggers up the situational awareness
they will talk English to an English pilot
but you miss half of what's going on

now Germany is different
I flew from UK to Denmark, through German airspace
when I first dialled in the German ATC everyone was talking German
uh oh
made my first call in English

it all went dead quiet
you could almost hear people changing gear
then everyone (pilots as well) continued in pefect English!

wunderbah!

[Reply #9 on:]

Think that happens world wide.
Can hear some reeeally heavily accented English flying thru/over/around New York City controlled airspace!

What are you flying?  I need to get back up in my Cessna 177 again. I work at an airbase, no excuse not to fly in vs 45 minute drive!

[Reply #10 on:]

I'm not so sure all German's like the situation

A Pan Am 727 waiting for start clearance in Munich overheard the following:

Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Unknown voice from another plane (in a British accent): "Because you lost the bloody war!"

But I'm from Belgium and I have read some "french and dutch code". My advice: "don't go there".
There have been languages that have translated to local languages or were/are available in localized versions. For instance excel converts your formula's to local language (settings). But also other more professional languages have tried it.
In general they become popular locally but hardly get "world sized" for the obvious reason of code reuse.
What could I do with code from a Chinese if it were in Chinese?
Don't forget that appart from the words there is also the formatting issue 1,000 and 1.000 in Belgium is 1.000 and 1,000 in USA. If you ever copied excel formula's from the internet and it didn't work, this was very likely to be the cause?
Would you like to copy and adapt

Code:

Voor(KlantID =0, KlantID < AantalKlanten,KlantID++) {drukAf(KlantID).}

to

Code:

for(CustomerID =0; CustomerID < NumberOfCustomers; CustomerID ++) {print(CustomerID );}

Best regards
Jantje

[Reply #11 on:]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-English-based_programming_languages

[Reply #12 on:]

Think that happens world wide.
Can hear some reeeally heavily accented English flying thru/over/around New York City controlled airspace!

What are you flying?  I need to get back up in my Cessna 177 again. I work at an airbase, no excuse not to fly in vs 45 minute drive!

didn't realise you flew too!
should have guessed from your earlier post

I fly an AA5 Tiger, full airways, IR

[Reply #13 on:]

....
For instance excel converts your formula's to local language (settings). Best regards
...

Jantje

I hate.. HATE that....   makes working at another location a b***h...  because excell also manages to NOT recognise the other languages... you can't use ROOT for example on a non-english PC, and I know that a root is "wortel" in Dutch, but I have no idea what it is in german or french... let alone the more complex functions

( also LOL@"because you lost the war")

[Reply #14 on:]

Reminds me of an old joke:

What do you call a person that can speak two languages?
  Answer, bilingual.
What do you call a person that can speak three languages?
  Answer, trilingual.
What do you call a person that can speak only one language?
  Answer, American.



Lefty