Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rice!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!bcsaic!carroll
From: carroll@bcsaic.UUCP (Jeff Carroll)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: sh: case .... ==> ;; esac <==
Message-ID: <27081@bcsaic.UUCP>
Date: 26 Jun 90 16:34:59 GMT
References: <6974@star.cs.vu.nl> <QB548F9@xds13.ferranti.com> <326@nyet.UUCP>
Followup-To: comp.lang.pascal
Organization: Boeing Computer Services AI Center, Seattle
Lines: 28

In article <326@nyet.UUCP> pete@nyet.UUCP (Pete Hardie) writes:

>There is also a largish body of research that supports this view.  Most
>of the studies point to Pascal's usage of ";" as causing many errors, 
>due to the (apparent) inconsistency of placement - it's there sometimes
>but not always, and people will forget to look for it when they are
>adding code.

	I used to think this too, but then I went back and read my
Pascal textbook (which I was too busy to do when I took my first class
in Pascal). It really does make sense if you take the time to understand
it.
  

>btw, I'd also like to ask why Pascal had to have the '.' as program 
>terminator, instead of the ';' as module separator?


	Because Pascal was designed on a blackboard, with no thought of
whether it would ever have to run on a real computer. Or has everyone
forgotten that by now?

	Boy, I feel old.

	Followups to comp.lang.pascal.

	Jeff Carroll
	carroll@atc.boeing.com