Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!mikel From: mikel@Apple.COM (Mikel Evins) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: Modula-3 Message-ID: <46821@apple.Apple.COM> Date: 26 Nov 90 19:33:58 GMT References: Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, CA Lines: 39 In article scott@next-8.gac.edu (Scott Hess) writes: >Anyhow, they mention Modula-3 in the issue, in a halfway decent article. >I've seen it around, at decwrl, but never really got around to porting it, >and I don't think anyone else around here has, either. So, I'm wondering >if anyone out there has ported it to the NeXT? Thanks. I work with Charles A. Lins, author of the Modula-2 Software Component Library from Springer-Verlag. Chuck is presently working on an Object Oberon compiler for the Macintosh. We were talking recently and batted around the idea of doing an Object Oberon compiler for the NeXT. I've been working on a Scheme-like functional language implementation of the NeXT myself, and really enjoy developing stuff for the machine. It's a real pleasure to work with. My question to the readership of this news group is this: is there general interest in an Object Oberon compiler? Oberon is Professor Wirth's current programming language design. Object Oberon is a slight extension to Oberon to provide full support for inheritance and polymorphism. Chuck actually has his compiler working on the Mac; we decided that it wouldn't be too hard to get it happening on the NeXT as well. Any interest? >For those who don't know, Modula-3 from SRC is a Modula-3 to C translator. >Modula-3 is alot like Modula-2, with some additions, like garbage collection >and objects. Sounds wonderful. Object Oberon is a native-code compiler. The language is generally similar to Professor Wirth's other languages, Pascal and Modula-2, but syntactically simpler, and more expressive. It provides support for classes, single inheritance, and polymorphism. Object Oberon includes garbage collection. Oberon compilers thus far implemented have been remarkable for the small size of their generated code (ETH Zurich has an operating system also called Oberon that is just ridiculously small), and for very good code efficiency. If people are interested in such a compiler, then Chuck may consider implementing it for the NeXT.