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From: smryan@garth.UUCP (Steven Ryan)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Complexity of syntax
Summary: There more powerful alternatives to C. And Algol 68.
Message-ID: <20@garth.UUCP>
Date: 17 Dec 90 18:28:26 GMT
References: <9012061208.AA08577@decpa.pa.dec.com> <1990Dec9.013923.14456@cs.umn.edu>
Reply-To: smryan@garth.UUCP (Steven Ryan)
Organization: INTERGRAPH (APD) -- Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 36

>How many languages support arrays of pointers to functions returning
>pointers to functions that return pointers to integers?  If you limit
>yourself to data structures that would work in FORTRAN or Pascal, you
>have no need for such programs.

I already answerred this kind of question before. In Algol 68, it's
	[]proc proc ref int

How many languages support arrays of functions returning arrays of
functions returning arrays of functions..... [*]

Two recursive mode definitions in Algol 68 are
	(1)  mode cell = struct(int data, ref cell link)
	(2)  mode list = proc(list)list
Translated into C these would be
	(1)  typedef struct cell{int data; struct cell *link;} cell;
	(2)  cannot be expressed in C

I suppose if you limit yourself to data structures that would work in C,
you have no need for such programs using (2).

Of course, CLU and other more recent languages would permit you to write
something akin to
	(3)  mode cell m = struct(m data, ref cell m link)
although in fact this cannot be written in C or Algol 68, so I suppose
if you limit.......

_______________________________________________________________________
* I don't have a copy of revised definition at hand, so I'm not sure if
	mode func = []proc func
is well formed. However
	mode func = []proc(int)func
is.
-- 
...!uunet!ingr!apd!smryan                                       Steven Ryan
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