Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!willett!ForthNet
From: ForthNet@willett.UUCP (ForthNet articles from GEnie)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Re: Data determines correct operation?
Message-ID: <1354.UUL1.3#5129@willett.UUCP>
Date: 18 Jul 90 02:53:12 GMT
References: <9898@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Organization: String, Scotch tape, and Paperclips.  (in Pgh, PA)
Lines: 33

In <9898@pt.cs.cmu.edu>, koopman@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Philip Koopman) writes:

> If you bought a calculator for $5, would you be upset if it said
> in the instruction manual that division with negative operands gave
> unspecified results?  Would you even think to look for such a thing?
> Of course you could try it out and see what it did.  But wouldn't
> such a limitation (if you happened to see it in the manual in
> the store) make you shy away from purchase out of anxiety over
> what other limitations (documented or not) you didn't think to
> look for?
Your analogy, while amusing, is flawed.  You are implying that the
BASIS says *only* that / on negative operands gives unspecified results.
You fail to account for the fact that the BASIS *does* give you
alternatives.  I can't give you a quick come-back calculator analogy
for that, but perhaps there just isn't one?

> BUT, leaving it undefined translates to "broken" in my book.
I get the feeling that "undefined" is being equivocated about here:

{/} does something, but we don't know what that is! :-)

{/} does what you expect with positive arguments.  See vendor's
    manual for what it does with negative arguments.  *OR* use one
    of the following fully specified words...

(Perhaps the complaint is with the structure of the BASIS?  I haven't
seen it, but I would assume that there would be cross references.
(Like the 'SEE ALSO' section of unix man pages))

-Doug
-----
This message came from GEnie via willett through a semi-automated process.
Report problems to: uunet!willett!dwp or willett!dwp@hobbes.cert.sei.cmu.edu