Re: nanotech programming languages?


In article <12kaivupj56dp0f@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Gordon Copestake
<URL:mailto:GordonCopestake@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In order to control nanotech in the future assemblers must be programed
with instructions in order to complete their work. Given the vast
amount of data involved it can be assumed that the "machine code" of
the assemblers will come from some sort of higher level programming
language which describes the desired outcome in a more concise and
human(?) readable format. I also assume that there are currently no
existing languages which will accomplish the task? What efforts have
been made using current technology to create a language that will
describe the tasks that assemblers will be required to perform and do
they resemble any current languages? Perhaps there will be no need for
such a programming language if human level AI's are built and we can
maybe then use plain English? What are peoples thoughts in this
direction?

It seems likely that, at least initially, assemblers will be
programmed by humans.

Most suggested designs for assemblers intended to produce macro
scale objects seem to include massively parallel arrays of
assembly stations, each doing atomically precise work.

Some of these stations will fail, due to cosmic rays, chemical
action, or maybe quantum effects. Whether this can be tolerated
will depend on what is being made, and how much redundancy there
is in the arrays of assembly stations. Some forms of failure may
mean that the object being produced is useless, or at least sub-
standard.

The programming system, and hence to some extent the programming
language, will need to take into account the above.

Programming languages work by giving you tools to break-down a
larger problem into smaller more manageable problems. It seems
likely that programming an assembler will work in a similar way,
with in most cases objects being constructed from pre-designed
nano scale components.

There will need to be a variety of tools checking for scaling
issues to do with inter-component communication and control, and
component resource and environment issues. And hence the infra
structure that the components need.

An important thought experiment for programming an assembler
might be how you program it to make a copy of itself. There are
issues here about data and metadata.

You might get somewhere by looking at the sort of programming
issues associated with a macro scale factory, packed with robotic
assembly tools, then thinking about a network of such factories.

--
Rory McLean
rory@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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