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Comment by jimbokun | Hacker News Reader

> All that one has to do is write the specifications for the software

...and we call that specification a computer program.

I see where you're going here. It might help if we construct a specific syntax and grammar for writing specifications for software. It'll be helpful for all of us if we can make our specifications as clear and efficient as possible. We could even call this combination of a syntax and grammar a programming language.

Just imagine a world when we have these programming languages to help us encode the specifications for our software. Wild! :)

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...and so, we reach Cucumber, the apex of programming

I like to think of the square root of x function:

    r such that r * r = x

That’s a specification that gives you no knowledge how to solve the problem. You can definitely have precise specifications that do not directly correlate to machine instructions.

And:

  print "Hello, World!"

gives no knowledge how to put text on the screen. Conversely, there's no reason a standard library couldn't include:

  fn (*) :: Num -> Num -> Num
  fn (a * b) = [machine code goes here]
  un (_ * d) n = n/d
  un (d * _) n = n/d
  un (_ * _) n = sqrt(n)

or similar.

Well then, "all you need to do" is convert your non constructive proof into a constructive one - et, voila :-)

I like this answer because it says it will require someone with specific knowledge and specific training doing a specific job anyway...

Also "anyway" a specification is always incomplete. It's part of the programmers' job to fill the gaps with something sensible, and when they have no idea what to do, to point out that some corner case was overlooked.

This is where programmers sometimes start to feel like Lieutenant Columbo: at first everyone is nice, but people become more and more irritated as the pesky cop asks more and more embarrassing questions.

at first everyone is nice, but people become more and more irritated as the pesky cop asks more and more embarrassing questions.

You just summed up about 20% of my job

Isn't that basically how you'd write it in Prolog?

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