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With a word like sandwich that’s defined ostensively, instead of asking “Is it a sandwich or not? Binary yes or no!!,” it’s better to ask, “•How• is it a sandwich?”

Similarly: “How is ____ a programming language?”

How does it resemble the pattern? How does it depart from it? Which lessons we’ve learned about programming apply here? Which don’t? Will it need…technical learning? precision? testing? debugging? version control? docs? knowledge sharing? curiosity? resilience to frustration? etc.