> Is it to be able to use variable names like they're used in mathematics?
Yes. That's the main point (in my case). I'm really tired of having variables with ugly names like "alpha" and "beta", when I could have simply α and β, just like they appear in print.
> Why use a miniature vocabulary of symbols when you can use English?
Because that's the vocabulary which is already used in math, and I do not wont to change mathematics to adapt to the limitations of programming languages.
See, I don't coincide at all with your point of view, but allowing greek leters in variable names would not keep you from using your preferred naming conventions.
EDIT: it's not really "difficult to type" either. For example, in linux if you add
setxkbmap -option caps:ctrl_modifier
to you keyboard configuration, then you can type greek leters by preceeding regular keys by CAPS LOCK.
I’m with you. It’s great the way Julia lets math look like math in code. And if you define a "dead Greek" key using xmodmap, typing the whole greek alphabet is no harder than typing uppercase letters.
Yes. That's the main point (in my case). I'm really tired of having variables with ugly names like "alpha" and "beta", when I could have simply α and β, just like they appear in print.
> Why use a miniature vocabulary of symbols when you can use English?
Because that's the vocabulary which is already used in math, and I do not wont to change mathematics to adapt to the limitations of programming languages.
See, I don't coincide at all with your point of view, but allowing greek leters in variable names would not keep you from using your preferred naming conventions.
EDIT: it's not really "difficult to type" either. For example, in linux if you add
to you keyboard configuration, then you can type greek leters by preceeding regular keys by CAPS LOCK.