Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!otter.hpl.hp.com!hpltoad!cdollin!kers From: kers@hplb.hpl.hp.com (Chris Dollin) Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc Subject: Re: CHALLENGE: heterogeneous collections Message-ID: Date: 2 Apr 91 12:41:51 GMT References: <48805@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <7689:Mar2623:28:5091@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> <49087@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <25655:Mar2803:50:2491@kramden.a Sender: news@hplb.hpl.hp.com (Usenet News Administrator) Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK. Lines: 25 In-Reply-To: brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu's message of 28 Mar 91 03:50:24 GMT Nntp-Posting-Host: cdollin.hpl.hp.com Dan Bernstein says: Dynamic typing isn't a semantic feature. It's a state of mind. If you want to use the pair (type,value) as a value with certain constraints, you can, whether the language supports it or not. It takes at most a good preprocessor to make this just as convenient as in any ``dynamically typed'' language. I call this ``designing a new language and compiling into [in this case] C''. C doesn't have [*1] dynamic typing, and the new language does. Look, kid, I'm not misinterpreting what's being said here. People are saying that languages with built-in support for dynamic typing are somehow better than languages without such support. I'm reacting to that statement. On the occasions when I want dynamically typed variables, I can use them without trouble in C. The last sentence merely highlights Dan's competence as a programmer; not all of us are so lucky. -- Regards, Kers. | "You're better off not dreaming of the things to come; Caravan: | Dreams are always ending far too soon."