

Ask HN:  Why not Programming languages instead of Mathematical Notation? - EzGraphs

Why don't educators and modern math text books use programming languages instead of mathematical notation?<p>As a programmer, I tend to absorb mathematical concepts by writing programs.  With the recent emphasis on programming literacy, and the fact that much math ends up expressed in a computer program, why don't educators use programming languages instead of mathematical notation?  Mathematical symbols are often difficult to represent without special editors.  Modern languages (Python, Ruby, arguably R) can be used to notate algorithms in a few lines of code that replace "pseudocode" type illustrations.
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Formal (math) notation has been around forever and it will probably stay that
way. Using it to specify software is a recent application, but the meanings of
symbols and their relationships are well established. Programming language
syntax rules change, math does not. Also, math is more concise, more precise,
and easier to analyze (prove that something is possible/impossible) than a
programming language.

P.S. Check out Using Z (usingz.com). It is fantastic.

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EzGraphs
Some responses might involve analogies with musical notation. Knowing the
notation allows you to read the modern literature and also great documents of
the past. But it would seem that an awful lot of math could be applied with
out having that depth of understanding. Guitar tableture serves as a suitable
proxy for guitarists...

