APL. I didn't care for the particular symbols, but the concept blew my mind, and got me interested in "table oriented programming" (TOP) and later the SMEQL query language (what SQL should have been). I'd often make table-driven logic using dBASE/xBASE back in its day because it was so nimble to edit meta-attributes AND put code in tables with it.
I still believe in data-dictionaries to drive CRUD instead of crap like C#/Java "annotations" on model classes, but our current tools and languages are not TOP-friendly. I'm convinced TOP is the future, I just don't know when. Some say "you lose type checking", but relational integrity can do much the same thing if set up right. I do personal TOP R&D, but the job is too big for 1 hobbyist.
I still believe in data-dictionaries to drive CRUD instead of crap like C#/Java "annotations" on model classes, but our current tools and languages are not TOP-friendly. I'm convinced TOP is the future, I just don't know when. Some say "you lose type checking", but relational integrity can do much the same thing if set up right. I do personal TOP R&D, but the job is too big for 1 hobbyist.