From: utzoo!utcsrgv!utcsstat!wagner
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Title: Re: Programming in other languages
Article-I.D.: utcsstat.267
Posted: Tue Jul 27 00:22:04 1982
Received: Tue Jul 27 08:33:14 1982
References: ihuxl.224

I can answer some of the questions about computing in Israel.
Most texts are in English, all the manuals are, but some
handouts are in mixed Hebrew/English.  Typically, the 
program is on the left side, reading left to right, and
the comments are on the right side, reading right to left, 
in Hebrew.  Your eyes do little reversing scan tricks to try
and read it.
   As for final output, there are Hebrew print chains, but they
are typically special mounts, and you have to reverse the 
string yourself.  I dont think I ever knew how it printed in the
program listing.  I know the Technion had specially modified
3270s with a Hebrew character set.  I think there was also a
hardware mod to the horizontal coils to reverse their sense at
the flip of a switch, allowing programs that hadnt gone to the
trouble of reversing their strings to be readable.  I also saw
a modified version of [NW]SCRIPT (sort of like NROFF) that
offered right justification as well as left justification, 
and programmed string-reversal.
  On other fronts, PLI (optimizer and checkout, not F as far
as I know) has user-replacable keyword tables, so you can
change the word DO to FAIT (or whatever you want).  There is
even a way of specifying optional embedded blanks (as in
GOTO or GO TO )  I cant remember what happens to the messages,
though.  I think they stay in english unless you want to do
major surgery, but I am not sure.  I have never actually 
encountered anyone who used this feature.  I dont even 
remember how we found it.

Michael Wagner, UTCS