Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!apple!sun-barr!ames!hc!lanl!jlg
From: jlg@lanl.gov (Jim Giles)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran
Subject: Re: Fortran 8x:  recursive data types
Message-ID: <13962@lanl.gov>
Date: 27 Jun 89 23:29:17 GMT
References: <2775@elxsi.UUCP>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lines: 13

From article <2775@elxsi.UUCP>, by corbett@beatnix.UUCP (Bob Corbett):
> [...]                                                         The other
> form of recursive data types allows fully general data structures to be
> constructed.  This form is equivalent to using pointers, but the pointers
> are implied rather than explicit.  I oppose this form of recursive data
> types because when pointers are used, their use should be explicit.

Why?  The functionality of recursive data structures is identical either
way.  The syntax using implicit pointers is more compact and the semantics
is easier to describe.  Furthermore, using explicit pointers would allow
pointers to be used for things _other_ than recursive data structures!
If the language already has IDENTIFY and SET RANGE, this additional use
of pointers would not only be redundant, but undesireable.