Web (programming system): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:37, 14 March 2025

Latest revision as of 16:28, 26 July 2025

(4 intermediate revisions by one other user not shown)

Line 4:

{{primary sources|date=October 2017}}

'''Web''', traditionally styled WEB, is a [[computer programming]] system created by [[Donald E. Knuth]] as the first implementation of what he called "[[literate programming]]": his idea that one could create [[software]] as works of [[literature]], by embedding [[source code]] in descriptive text, rather than the reverse. Unlike standard programming practice which relegates documentation to comments, the WEB approach is to write an article to document the making of the source code, and to include all the source code in that article, so as to be compilable therefrom.

==Philosophy==

Line 12:

==Implementations==

The original WebWEB system [[dependencyDependency (computer science)|depends]] on [[Pascal programming language|Pascal]] and comprises two programs:

* TANGLE, which produces compilable Pascal code from the source texts, and

Line 49:

===Features===

* Can enter manual TeX code as well as automatic.

* MakeMakes formatting of C code suitable for [[pretty printing]].

* Can define sections, and can contain documentation and codes, which can then be included into other sections.

* WriteWrites the header code and main C code in one file, and can reuse the same sections, and then it can be tangled into multiple files for compiling.

* UseUses <code>#line</code> directive so that any warnings or errors refer to the .w source.

* Include files.

* Change files, which can be automatically merged into the code when compiling/printing.