Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!comp.vuw.ac.nz!waikato!ldo
From: ldo@waikato.ac.nz (Lawrence D'Oliveiro, Waikato University)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: MPW Linker wish...
Message-ID: <2506.276672e0@waikato.ac.nz>
Date: 12 Dec 90 05:11:44 GMT
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Lines: 28

Wouldn't it be nice if the MPW Linker supported Modula-2 and like-minded
languages? Specifically, it should do the following:

* Automatically sort initialization code for modules into the right
  sequence, based on their import relationships (if A imports B
  which imports C, then C should initialize before B, which in turn
  should initialize before A).
* Check for and *disallow* circular imports (I don't care what
  Niklaus Wirth says, circular imports are wrong)--if A imports
  B which imports C which imports A, then this is an error.
  All right--it should at least be a warning.
* Support checking of compilation dates/times on modules, so that
  if A and B import C, the Linker can check that they import
  the same version of C (to ensure that both A and B are recompiled
  if the interface to C has changed).

I have seen at least one linker (the VAX/VMS one) that supported the last
feature. But the only one I've seen that catered to the first two
was part of a standalone Modula-2 implementation that ran on a PDP-11
(I think this was *the* original Modula-2 implementation). It was
a neat little system--sigh...

Lawrence D'Oliveiro                       fone: +64-71-562-889
Computer Services Dept                     fax: +64-71-384-066
University of Waikato            electric mail: ldo@waikato.ac.nz
Hamilton, New Zealand    37^ 47' 26" S, 175^ 19' 7" E, GMT+13:00
Just when you thought it was safe to crawl back behind the
refrigerator... PEST EXTERMINATORS II!