Programming language constructs called pronouns and referents, and a
method, system, and apparatus for translating computer source code that
contains the pronouns and referents. A referent is any semantic or
syntactic construct in the source code (e.g., a statement, a portion of a
statement, an expression, or a value) to which a pronoun refers. A pronoun
is a programming-language defined source-code symbol or a sequence of
symbols that refers to the referent. As a result, pronouns eliminate the
need to define new names or macros for repeated program segments. When a
translator encounters the pronoun in the source code, the translator
searches the source code for the referent and substitutes the referent for
the pronoun. Thus, by using pronouns and referents, the programmer can
write programs faster and easier and eliminate program redundancy without
losing readability.
