English Readable Programming Language

Abstract

Modern programming languages rely on artificial syntax, but using natural English syntax instead would improve their usability and make them more accessible to novice and non-technical users. Previous attempts to create a programming language with English-readable syntax have had mixed success. This paper describes a new language, ERPL, which goes beyond those attempts by putting syntax entirely in a subset of natural English and by incorporating functional-programming concepts into its semantics. ERPL is not yet developed enough to be broadly useful, but design considerations and preliminary testing tend to support its core ideas. The results suggest that natural and artificial languages share attributes that can be exploited to make coding more intuitive.