From lojban-out@lojban.org Fri Apr 30 15:24:11 2004 Return-Path: X-Sender: lojban-out@lojban.org X-Apparently-To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 70898 invoked from network); 30 Apr 2004 22:24:10 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.167) by m22.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 30 Apr 2004 22:24:10 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO chain.digitalkingdom.org) (64.81.49.134) by mta6.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 30 Apr 2004 22:24:10 -0000 Received: from lojban-out by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.31) id 1BJgQR-00056v-LM for lojban@yahoogroups.com; Fri, 30 Apr 2004 15:24:07 -0700 Received: from dsl081-049-134.sfo1.dsl.speakeasy.net ([64.81.49.134] helo=chain.digitalkingdom.org) by chain.digitalkingdom.org with esmtp (Exim 4.31) id 1BJgPl-00053e-Vc; Fri, 30 Apr 2004 15:23:26 -0700 Received: with ECARTIS (v1.0.0; list lojban-list); Fri, 30 Apr 2004 15:23:22 -0700 (PDT) Received: from rlpowell by chain.digitalkingdom.org with local (Exim 4.31) id 1BJgPc-00053R-Cq for lojban-list@lojban.org; Fri, 30 Apr 2004 15:23:16 -0700 Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 15:23:16 -0700 Message-ID: <20040430222316.GC14939@digitalkingdom.org> Mail-Followup-To: lojban-list@lojban.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.5.1+cvs20040105i X-archive-position: 7599 X-ecartis-version: Ecartis v1.0.0 Sender: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org Errors-to: lojban-list-bounce@lojban.org X-original-sender: rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org X-list: lojban-list To: lojban@yahoogroups.com X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 64.81.49.134 X-eGroups-From: Robin Lee Powell From: Robin Lee Powell Reply-To: rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org Subject: [lojban] Why capital letters standing in for letterals is a *bad* idea. X-Yahoo-Group-Post: member; u=116389790 X-Yahoo-Profile: lojban_out X-Yahoo-Message-Num: 22069 Some people use capital letters in Lojban to represent letterals, similar to English acronyms. I just realized what the problem is with this: it introduces ambiguity, because capital letters can be used in names. Is XAX xamgu the same as xy abu xy xamgu or the (valid, but strange) name and brivla xax xamgu ? Every parser agrees that both are valid, and if capital letters can be used as letterals, there's no way to tell the difference. -Robin -- http://www.digitalkingdom.org/~rlpowell/ *** I'm a *male* Robin. "Many philosophical problems are caused by such things as the simple inability to shut up." -- David Stove, liberally paraphrased. http://www.lojban.org/ *** loi pimlu na srana .i ti rokci morsi