Xref: utzoo comp.lang.c:37058 alt.sources:3483
Path: utzoo!utgpu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!samsung!munnari.oz.au!goanna!ok
From: ok@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au (Richard A. O'Keefe)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c,alt.sources
Subject: Re: Small introspective program
Message-ID: <4963@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au>
Date: 14 Mar 91 00:22:23 GMT
References: <1991Mar10.231230.1301@casbah.acns.nwu.edu> <1991Mar13.001423.5194@Think.COM>
Followup-To: comp.lang.c
Organization: Comp Sci, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia
Lines: 10

The subject line is seriously misleading.  None of the examples that
has been posted has anything to do with INTROSPECTION (one might call
3-Lisp introspective, perhaps even Scheme, with its built in function
call-with-current-continuation).  They are SELF-REPRODUCING programs,
which is something rather different.  A program would be introspective
if it could take a step back from itself and watch its own workings.
(One might even call a UNIX program that has called monitor() or profil()
an introspective program.)  Self-reproducing programs are old hat.
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