Words [ dictionary/glossary/wiki ]

[nelsonic]

_this comment can be edited by contributors_.

This is an alphabetical list of the words we have defined in the _alvo_ vocabulary with an explanation of what the word means (to us), the associated action it accomplishes and an example of its usage.

expect

expect lets us check something on the page.

visit

visit is the simplest word we could think of for instructing a person to visit a particular url.
example:

visit google.com
expect pagehastext "I'm Feeling Lucky"

[nelsonic]

@iteles we are essentially developing our own http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain-specific_language for this project. we need a fantastic name for the _new language_ for the web! 😉

[iteles]

This. Is. So. Fun! 🎉 🎈

[nelsonic]

What do you think about using the word _first_ to indicate an task that you "include" (before starting the task you are about to define ... most programming languages have the notion of "include" we need a more human-friendly word)
e.g:

first "login"
visit /new
input #tweet "inventing new dsl for the web!"
click #submit
expect .tweets contains "inventing new dsl"

@iteles

[iteles]

Right. "include" and "import" aren't natural for non-programmers.

I like the idea of using then to chain things together:

"login" then
visit /new
...

But we need an 'include' type word. start with is probably more intuitive but too wordy.

[nelsonic]

as in include in C: https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/cpp/Include-Syntax.html
or include in PHP: http://php.net/manual/en/function.include.php
or import in python: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/714881/how-to-include-external-python-code-to-use-in-other-files
or include in Ruby: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/318144/what-is-the-difference-between-include-and-require-in-ruby
or require in node.js ... https://docs.nodejitsu.com/articles/getting-started/what-is-require

Its another piece of code you want to include before running your statement.

[nelsonic]

we could use require instead of _first_

[nelsonic]

I really want to keep the vocabulary as simple as possible.
But... in fairness. _require_ might be clearer because it could also do something interesting...
like if there is no _task_ called "login" it could try and find one...

[iteles]

And run might be too intimidating for some people...

Yes. require sounds good! We can always change it if we have a flash of inspiration ⚡

[nelsonic]

No... that's the point of a DSL. we are carving the language into _Stone_.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8306631.stm

[iteles]

😆 No, I meant in the next few days!!
Might actually be interesting to talk to the relatively inexperienced students coming in on Monday...

[nelsonic]

see: https://github.com/dwyl/learn-nightmare-and-daydream 👍