How is a total language obscure? It's a language describing total functions

kristopolous · 2025-04-13T07:31:01 1744529461

oh I knew I was going to get this. Now I have to define obscure. Let's go!

Github has two (yes, just 2) repositories referring to them: (that's nearly 0.000 000 5% of Github I hear you say)

But maybe that's unfair. Let's try a software engineering encyclopedia!

Ok, "Encyclopedia of Software Engineering (2011)" doesn't have it: https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofso0001unse_m2w7/pa...

Alright what about programming language text book?

Well, "Programming language design concepts" (2004) also doesn't mention it https://archive.org/details/programminglangu0000watt/mode/2u...

What about Donald Knuth? Surely! Nope, not on the versions of his text on archive.org at least.

Oh let's go to arxiv. I'm sure of the ~400 CS papers that go up daily there'd be hundreds of ... oh wait, we got 5 spreading over 17 years: https://arxiv.org/search/?query=%22total+language%22&searcht... about 1 every 3 years. Alright.

And thus with 5 different sampling methods all supporting the same conclusion I will support the claim that it is obscure.

I know how on the internet, vibes tends to win over cited defensible evidence but I did it anyway. Maybe we can be all be adults some day.