Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!edcastle!tjc
From: tjc@castle.ed.ac.uk (A J Cunningham)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: The programming CULT (WOW!?)
Message-ID: <5684@castle.ed.ac.uk>
Date: 14 Aug 90 09:14:00 GMT
References: <1203.26c2f334@waikato.ac.nz> <9698@goofy.Apple.COM> <1990Aug13.190518.14696@Neon.Stanford.EDU>
Organization: Edinburgh University Colouring Book Software
Lines: 22

In article <1990Aug13.190518.14696@Neon.Stanford.EDU> philip@pescadero.stanford.edu writes:
>In article <5649@castle.ed.ac.uk>, tjc@castle.ed.ac.uk (A J Cunningham) writes:

>"Faults"? Depends on your point of view. Was Pascal intended to be used for
>systems programming? Wasn't this why Wirth then moved on to Modula-2? By the
>way, Pascal _does_ have bit operations (I believe that's what Wirth intended
>sets to be for).

	I guess I should have said 'these are serious weaknesses in a
systems programming language.' As you so rightly point out Pascal was
never intended to be such a thing. The versions of Pascal I've seen for
systems programming have had significant extensions which address these
problems. I guess at the end of the day programmers should use the
language they are most comfortable with.
	Tony.
p.s. Using sets for bit operations is a vile hack.

-- 
Tony Cunningham, Edinburgh University Computing Service. tjc@castle.ed.ac.uk

		If a man among you has no sin upon his hand
	    Let him throw a stone at me for playing in the band.