Knowing .NET

http://www.dontclick.it/ shows how effective a clickless interface can be.

DevX has posted an article that I am really pretty proud of: a literate programming tool for .NET using Microsoft’s Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005. By using Word styles and embedding XML tags, you can label your code fragments in a Word document as compilable (including specifying assembly targets, compiler options, etc.). Additionally, the code fragments can have references to other code fragments within them, so that your code fragment can say “<<using block>>” and you can fill in those details someplace else in the document (in a separate discussion, an appendix, or even in a hidden “boilerplate“ section).

A SmartTag assembles all of the code fragments for a given “compilation unit,“ (think normal source code file) and all the “compilation unit“s for a given “assembly target.“ They source can be placed on the clipboard as an XML tree of fragments, as an assembled compilation unit (ready for pasting into Visual Studio), or can even be compiled directly from within Word. I support C# and VB.NET “out of the box“ but it’s a simple matter to support additional languages for compilation.

Normally, I’m content to write a tool for an article and leave it for as inspiration for further exploration by others, but I think this tool has such potential that I’m going to continue developing it, possibly on SourceForge or, more likely, hosted locally. In particular, I’d like to add FIT capabilities so that authors would have the ability to confirm that their code behaves as they expect; macros so that adding code blocks was as easy as “Ctl-C“ (or whatever); and the ability to specify “alternate fragments“ so that you can say “If we replace Listing 12 with Listing 13, you can see the behavior do such-and-so…“

I’m going to reveal a new site on the subject shortly…

Loren Heiny is has begun posting screenshots from his work developing IDE plug-ins allowing inked comments to be made on source code. Personally, I think this is a tremendous use of the Tablet. DevX has just put up my article on literate programming in .NET using Word (in other words, a Word document whose code listings are supported by a “compile this!” smart tag). I was able to use Word’s ink annotation capabilities in that project, as well (especially when ink comments are set to “float in front” of the text), but Loren’s is definitely the more focused effort.

Oh, I am freakin’ killing myself. I bought an M1400 last freakin’ week in order to get a ViewAnywhere screen and Motion ships an 8” diagonal-screen Tablet. I am so severely bummed words can’t express…

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I live in Hawaii, see. And the view from my lanai (what you mainlanders would call a “porch”) is a panoramic view of the Kona coast. My office, on the other hand, has a window that looks at my garage and a stone wall and another that looks at a tree five feet away. I so want to be able to work outside, with a full-fledged computer that I can write on while sipping an ice tea and watching the surf break…

The most anticipated patch in Tablet PC OS history is now available!

1. Titanic (1997) – $600,779,824
2. Star Wars (1977) – $460,935,665
3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – $434,949,459
4. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) – $431,065,444
5. Spider-Man (2002) – $403,706,375
6. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) – $377,019,252
7. Passion of the Christ, The (2004) – $370,025,697
8. Jurassic Park (1993) – $356,784,000
9. Shrek 2 (2004) – $356,211,000
10. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) – $340,478,898
11. Finding Nemo (2003) – $339,714,367
12. Forrest Gump (1994) – $329,691,196
13. Lion King, The (1994) – $328,423,001
14. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) – $317,557,891
15. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) – $313,837,577
16. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) – $310,675,583
17. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) – $309,125,409
18. Independence Day (1996) – $306,124,059
19. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) – $305,411,224
20. Sixth Sense, The (1999) – $293,501,675
21. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – $290,158,751
22. Home Alone (1990) – $285,761,243
23. Matrix Reloaded, The (2003) – $281,492,479
24. Shrek (2001) – $267,652,016
25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) – $261,970,615
26. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) – $260,031,035
27. Jaws (1975) – $260,000,000
28. Monsters, Inc. (2001) – $255,870,172
29. Batman (1989) – $251,188,924
30. Men in Black (1997) – $250,147,615
31. Toy Story 2 (1999) – $245,823,397
32. Bruce Almighty (2003) – $242,589,580
33. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – $242,374,454
34. Twister (1996) – $241,700,000
35. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) – $241,437,427
36. Ghost Busters (1984) – $238,600,000
37. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) – $234,760,500
38. Cast Away (2000) – $233,630,478
39. Lost World: Jurassic Park, The (1997) – $229,074,524
40. Signs (2002) – $227,965,690
41. Rush Hour 2 (2001) – $226,138,454
42. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) – $219,200,000
43. Ghost (1990) – $217,631,306
44. Aladdin (1992) – $217,350,219
45. Saving Private Ryan (1998) – $216,119,491
46. Mission: Impossible II (2000) – $215,397,30
47. X2 (2003) – $214,948,780
48. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) – $213,079,163
49. Back to the Future (1985) – $210,609,762
50. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) – $205,399,422
51. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – $204,843,350
52. Exorcist, The (1973) – $204,565,000
53. Mummy Returns, The (2001) – $202,007,640
54. Armageddon (1998) – $201,573,391
55. Gone with the Wind (1939) – $198,655,278
56. Pearl Harbor (2001) – $198,539,855
57. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) – $197,171,806
58. Toy Story (1995) – $191,800,000
59. Men in Black II (2002) – $190,418,803
60. Gladiator (2000) – $187,670,866
61. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) – $184,925,485
62. Dances with Wolves (1990) – $184,208,848
63. Batman Forever (1995) – $184,031,112
64. Fugitive, The (1993) – $183,875,760
65. Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – $183,405,771
66. What Women Want (2000) – $182,805,123
67. Perfect Storm, The (2000) – $182,618,434
68. Liar Liar (1997) – $181,395,380
69. Grease (1978) – $181,360,000
70. Jurassic Park III (2001) – $181,166,115
71. Mission: Impossible (1996) – $180,965,237
72. Planet of the Apes (2001) – $180,011,740
73. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) – $179,870,271
74. Pretty Woman (1990) – $178,406,268
75. Tootsie (1982) – $177,200,000
76. Top Gun (1986) – $176,781,728
77. There’s Something About Mary (1998) – $176,483,808
78. Ice Age (2002) – $176,387,405
79. Crocodile Dundee (1986) – $174,635,000
80. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) – $173,585,516
81. Elf (2003) – $173,381,405
82. Air Force One (1997) – $172,888,056
83. Rain Man (1988) – $172,825,435
84. Apollo 13 (1995) – $172,071,312
85. Matrix, The (1999) – $171,383,253
86. Beauty and the Beast (1991) – $171,301,428
87. Tarzan (1999) – $171,085,177
88. Beautiful Mind, A (2001) – $170,708,996
89. Chicago (2002) – $170,684,505
90. Three Men and a Baby (1987) – $167,780,960
91. Meet the Parents (2000) – $166,225,040
92. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) – $165,500,000
93. Hannibal (2001) – $165,091,464
94. Catch Me If You Can (2002) – $164,435,221
95. Big Daddy (1999) – $163,479,795
96. Sound of Music, The (1965) – $163,214,286
97. Batman Returns (1992) – $162,831,698
98. Bug’s Life, A (1998) – $162,792,677
99. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) – $161,963,000
100. Waterboy, The (1998) – $161,487,252

Related…

So at first you think:

To_Do_Item ::= Done Item
Done ::= boolean
Item ::= String

But then you think:

To_Do_Item ::= Done Item Due
Due ::= DateTime

And then you think:

Due ::= DateTime | RecurrencePattern | DatePattern
DatePattern — “next Tuesday” “3rd Fridays of the Month” etc…

And you’re also thinking:

To_Do_Item ::= Done Status Item
Status ::= Done | Pending | Deferred| Waiting | Overdue | Next Action | Urgent

And what about “Every 3 months or 3,000 miles”? And how to distinguish between “If it’s overdue, it’s over,” (“attend the concert,”) “Due any time in a range,” (“get a haircut,”), and “If it’s overdue, it becomes more urgent.”?

And wouldn’t a To-Do List DSL be able to describe things like “Your goal is to exercise 40 minutes per day, but 40 minutes every other day is marginally acceptable. But if you don’t exercise at all for five days in a row, you’ve got to get out of the house.”?

There are no easy domains…