Why “Natural”?
Language should be close to user’s plan
- “Programming is the process of transforming a mental plan into one that is compatible with the computer.” — Hoc
Directness (as in “Direct Manipulation”)
- “Distance between one's goals and the actions required by the system to achieve those goals.” — Hutchins, Hollan and Norman
Closeness of mapping
- "The closer the programming world is to the problem world, the easier the problem-solving ought to be.… Conventional textual languages are a long way from that goal." — Green and Petre