WikiDiscuss

WikiDiscuss


Magic Words

posts: 14214

On Sat, Nov 06, 2004 at 09:00:37PM -0800, Jorge Llamb?as wrote:
> I am not particularly interested in the *effects* of allowing
> {zei} to work on these constructs. I just want the simplest
> possible rule. The way I see it now, {zo} and {zoi} act first, so
> {zei} has just their output to work with.

OK, that's where we're stuck.

"output"? These aren't functions, these are strings of text. "zo
broda" is two words. We define the former as quoting the latter,
but there's no "output".

> Maybe there is a simpler way of looking at it?

My meta-rules (which I didn't know I had):

1. Magic words lay claim to, or "grab", other words, with varying
effects.

2. Magic word grabbing proceeds by an order of precedence. The
effect of a magic word can be to prevent the operation of another
magic word (zo in particular) in which case the word that has been
so grabbed no longer is allowed to grab other words.

3. No two magic words may grab the same word, unless the
interaction between those two magic words has been clearly defined.
Any attempt to do so is an error.

Reading {zo broda zei brode}, for example, we have:

zo grabs "broda". No other grabbing word is allowed to have it.

zei attempts to grab broda, but broda has already been grabbed. An
error results.

For {broda si zei brode} we have a similar error, assuming that si
is of higher precedence than zei, which I am.

-Robin