Jocelyn Paine
In this handout, I say a bit about how the computer system is
controlled, about why you need to hit RETURN after each line, about the
different programs you may be talking to, and so on. To run Eden, it is
not essential that you know this material. However, I do find that
beginners are sometimes confused by the number of different programs
they have to interact with when doing the course. If you're not used to
computing, it's easy to believe that ``the computer'' is a single-minded
entity, speaking one language that is the same in all situations. In
fact this is far from the truth, as I go on to show in
section 
. The system comprises a host of different programs.
These all expect different types of input, and the grammatical forms
appropriate for one will not suit another.
One thing that most of these programs do have in common is the
need for you to hit RETURN at the end of each line. Beginners often
forget to do this. In section , I explain why it's
necessary to do so, and what happens to your input if you don't.