Re: What's the word for...

CNS-ksf-+Jordan T.J. (tjj@netnews.summit.novell.com) wrote:
: Could someone please tell me what the word is for a language
: which can be written in itself?
: Thanks
: [Introspective? Bootstrappable? Lisp? -John]


What does "written in iself" mean? Many languages can have compilers
"written in" themselves, but are incapable of formally describing their
own grammar, since they are programming languages, not grammar description
languages. Conversely, BNF can formally describe its own grammar, but you
could not write a parser in BNF, since it is not a programming language.
Let's be a little more precise here.


This reminds me of Russell's version of a famous paradox. Consider
adjectives. Call those that can describe themselves "autologous" (e.g.
"short") and thos that cannot describe themselves as "heterologous" (e.g.
"long"). Now consider the adjective "heterologous". If it is heterologous
then it is autologous, but if it is autologous then it is heterologous.


cheers


andrew dunstan
[Darn that Epimenides. -John]
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