Sloppy programming

Abstract

The essence of sloppy programming is that the user should be able to enter something simple and natural, such as a few keywords, and the computer should try everything within its power to interpret and make sense of this input. This chapter discusses several prototypes that implement sloppy programming, translating sloppy commands directly into executable code. It also describes the algorithms used in these prototypes, exposes their limitations, and proposes directions for future work. The techniques described in this discussion still just scratch the surface of a domain with great potential: translating sloppy commands into executable code. It has described potential benefits to end users and expert programmers alike, as well as advocated a continued need for textual command interfaces. A number of prototypes are discussed exploring this technology and what one can learn from them, including the fact that users can form commands for some of these systems without any training. Finally, it gave some high-level technical details about how to go about actually implementing sloppy translation algorithms, with some references for future reading.