Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!noao!arizona!kwalker From: kwalker@cs.arizona.edu (Kenneth Walker) Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc Subject: Re: Survey Results : Perl vs Icon vs .... Summary: operating system interface Message-ID: <1472@optima.cs.arizona.edu> Date: 3 Apr 91 16:12:35 GMT References: <3252@charon.cwi.nl> Sender: news@cs.arizona.edu Distribution: comp Lines: 14 In article <3252@charon.cwi.nl>, guido@cwi.nl (Guido van Rossum) writes: > There is no excuse for not providing a decent Unix interface for a > language that runs under Unix. Leaving it up to local initiative > ("customization") is fatal for portability. The argument applies equally to the Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, OS/2, MPW on the Macintosh, CMS, VMS, and VMS. That's a lot of work! Actually there are some operating system specific functions, mostly supplied by those who did the ports and other members of the user community. My point is that implementing and supporting such interfaces requires resources. Ken Walker / Computer Science Dept / Univ of Arizona / Tucson, AZ 85721 +1 602 621-4252 kwalker@cs.arizona.edu {uunet|allegra|noao}!arizona!kwalker