Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!rutgers!cmcl2!lanl!lambda!jlg
From: jlg@lambda.UUCP (Jim Giles)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: NOT Educating FORTRAN programmers to use C
Message-ID: <14208@lambda.UUCP>
Date: 24 Jan 90 00:12:45 GMT
References: <1735@gannet.cl.cam.ac.uk>
Lines: 20

From article <1735@gannet.cl.cam.ac.uk>, by cet1@cl.cam.ac.uk (C.E. Thompson):
> [...]
> Algol68 has assigning operators, e.g.  a +:= b, and they seem to be quite
> popular with users of that language. It was probably the influence of 
> Algol68, rather than C, which caused them to be added to the BCPL language:
> all modern {:-)} BCPLs have <lhs> <operator>:= <rhs>.

Especially since BCPL was a precursor of C.  This only strengthens my
previous argument though.  I can't believe that _any_ language designer
of recent vintage is ignorant of ALGOL68.  Yet, as I said, there hasn't
been a stampede toward such operators in newly designed languages.

This is not to say that I personally oppose such operators.  I don't use
them.  I understand what they do.  I'm designing a language which _doesn't_
have them - but, since users can define their own operators (and overload
existing ones), all C's operators can be implemented if the user wants.
I am somewhat more opposed to assignment operators working at the
expression level - but even here I allow users to define such operators.

J. Giles