Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!ucsd!pacbell.com!pacbell!att!cbnewsc!lgm From: lgm@cbnewsc.att.com (lawrence.g.mayka) Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc Subject: Re: Efficient Fortran Message-ID: <1990Aug4.173959.29564@cbnewsc.att.com> Date: 4 Aug 90 17:39:59 GMT References: <8E+4_83@ggpc2.ferranti.com> <2426@l.cc.purdue.edu> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 19 In article ted@nmsu.edu (Ted Dunning) writes: >parsed by a static parser. if you allow new operators and new >precedences, then you get into the serious problem of needing to >extend the parser in non-trivial ways *at compile time*. the lisp >community has been trying to get this just right for decades and is >still trying. prolog newcomers still cause insiders to giggle by I think the Common Lisp community finds lexical extension (macro characters) quite useful and syntactic extension (macros) absolutely essential. Your "still trying" barb seems to be an attack on the very process of experimentation, growth, development, standardization, and extension inherent in the introduction of new technology. Lawrence G. Mayka AT&T Bell Laboratories lgm@iexist.att.com Standard disclaimer.