Theme
Description
Naturally, having to read a language which syntax is unfamiliar decreases understanding. This is a challenge for any new language and especially domain-specific languages that might deviate from the established conventions of mainstream general-purpose programming languages.
Problems with unknown syntax can not only occur with a new or unfamiliar language. With increasing complexity and syntactic sugar, multiple syntax options can exist that archive the same result - making it more likely that a user has not seen a specific syntax before (see PL5.5 - Different syntax options for the same semantic decrease understanding). Additionally, external libraries might introduce new concepts or names that mean users can not recognize the syntax used (see PL4.2 - External libraries have different approaches and change).
In the context of our experiment, participants had previous experience with Python but had no experience with Jayvee and its language design. The unfamiliarity with the syntax of Jayvee should therefore be considered as an influencing factor to the detriment of Jayvee.
Representative Quotes
If you have not worked/used Python before the syntax of Pandas is quite difficult even for simple operations (renaming, droping, filtering etc).
- S31
I found the Jayvee code structure a bit difficult to understand, mostly the constraints and value type. The keywords are bit long and difficult to read when there is a limited time to perform an action. (…) (Python is) easy to read and code as the language keywords are also short. Also, we have been practicing Python and Pandas for a long lime so we are habituated with the structure and data pipeline making it more easier.
- S51