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Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: BASIS Feedback
Message-ID: <1646.UUL1.3#5129@willett.pgh.pa.us>
Date: 31 Aug 90 02:53:54 GMT
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Category 18,  Topic 54
Message 100       Thu Aug 30, 1990
R.BERKEY [Robert]            at 03:16 PDT
 
 
 Subject: Standardization vs. disorder

 In <1633.UUL1.3#5129@willett.pgh.pa.us>, dwp@willett.pgh.pa.us (Doug
 Philips) writes:
 > In <12413@sdcc6.ucsd.edu>, ir230@sdcc6.ucsd.edu (john wavrik) writes:
   ...
 > > I should make clear (as I have done several times in the past) that I
 > > firmly believe that a good Standard is essential for the survival of
 > > Forth. What I am now trying to discover (by asking questions) is
 > > whether the proposed ANSI Standard in its current form has arrived at
 > > that state. Is it really directed at making sure that significant
 > > programs can be written portably?  Is it really directed at defining
 > > the Forth language as well as our current understanding allows it to
 > > be defined?  Have words names and actions been chosen to facilitate
 > > programming -- or are we being stuck with clumsy compromises? etc.
 >
 > I would think you wouldn't even need to ask that question.  As has been
 > stated several times in the past, the ANS standard is NOT supposed to
 > break new ground.  It is supposed to condense and solidify what has already
 > been proven.  I think you need to be asking instead:  Is the ANS charter
 > compatable with what I want out of a standards process?  If you are
 > interested in making a brave new Forth, the ANS process is not for you.

Standardization occurs because of the absence of order.  Were the object of a
standard already in a state of order, then what would be the purpose of a
standard?  As for the concept that the ANS Forth standard is "NOT supposed to
break new ground" this may represent individual preference or an appropriate
tendency.  The jurisdiction of standardization is a superset of existing
knowledge.  POSTPONE is an example of a new idea that has come out of the
current standardization process.

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