Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!vsnyder From: vsnyder@jato.jpl.nasa.gov (Van Snyder) Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2 Subject: Re: Oh My! Modula-2 Book Message-ID: <1991Mar14.235248.24540@jato.jpl.nasa.gov> Date: 14 Mar 91 23:52:48 GMT References: <2177.27DB3A01@puddle.fidonet.org> <2441@sumax.seattleu.edu> <1991Mar14.191513.20184@iitmax.iit.edu> Reply-To: vsnyder@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Van Snyder) Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA Lines: 39 In article <1991Mar14.191513.20184@iitmax.iit.edu> gkt@iitmax.iit.edu (George Thiruvathukal) writes: >In article , stucki@amygdala.cis.ohio-state.edu (David J Stucki) writes: >> The use of non-standard libraries should not be a disadvantage, >> since the "standard" ones are rarely implemented correct wrt Wirth. >> Cooper's IO module is much cleaner than either the InOut provided by >> Metrowerks (for the MAC) or Sun. > >I agree with the principle stated above; however, non-standard libraries ought >to have a standard implementation. Without a standard set of libraries or, >minimally, a library which is implemented in the standard language, how can >any degree of portability between implementations be achieved? It cannot be >achieved. > >It is somewhat regrettable that Niklaus Wirth left the issue of libraries so >open-ended that programmers cannot rely upon a minimal set of libraries from >implementation to implementation. Even in the C language, one can count on >input/output functions. As the above excerpt suggests, one should not be able >to count on input/output (something so fundamental) being well-implemented by >compiler vendors. Would it not make some sense that one ought to question the >abilities of a compiler writer who cannot design and implement simple libraries >to accompany his/her compiler? Further, if the standard libaries cannot be >implemented correctly, how on earth is a variation on the same theme to be >implemented? >-- >George Thiruvathukal > >Laboratory for Parallel Computing and Languages >Illinois Institute of Technology >Chicago Is it any wonder that Fortran and Cobol don't go away? Back in the "dark ages" I/O was an integral, standardized, part of the language. In Ada, I/O (and tasking) are disguised to look like procedures, but at least they're standard- ized. -- vsnyder@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov ames!elroy!jato!vsnyder vsnyder@jato.uucp