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From: alex@LAGUNA.METAPHOR.COM (Bob Alexander)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.icon
Subject: Re: Survey Results
Message-ID: <9104051853.AA10400@laguna.Metaphor.COM>
Date: 5 Apr 91 18:53:52 GMT
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I read your language survey with great interest, since (1) I'm also
currently in the process of surveying languages for a particular use,
and (2) I'm an Icon fan, user, and implementor.

Regarding (1), you've done a really nice job of researching the
languages and sharing your findings -- my interest is piqued to further
investigate a couple of new languages.  Thanks.

Regarding (2), I watched the icon-group traffic stimulated by your
posting, and noticed a couple of area that might not have been
covered.  So here are my additions:

> -  Unix interface is quite primitive.
>    If you just want to use a command, you can use `callout', anything
>    more complicated requires building a personal interpreter (not as
>    difficult as it may sound)

I'm not sure just what constitutes a good UNIX interface, but Icon has
great access to "commands" via subshells.  It has a system() function
just like C, and has popen() access for both reading and writing via
the "p" option of the Icon open() function.  "callout" was really
intended for adding C functions to Icon, not for access to UNIX
"commands".  (However, if what you intended by the term "commands" is
UNIX system calls, I agree the built-in interface is weak, although
some of that sort of work can be done through subshell commands).

> +  can define your own iterators
>    i.e. your own procedures for iterating through arbitrary structures.

Merely the tip of the generator/goal-directed iceberg :-)!

>     The Icon Programmming Language
>     Ralph E. Griswold and Madge T. Griswold
>     Prentice Hall 1983

There's a second edition of the excellent "Icon Book" that is even
bigger and better than the original:

Griswold, Ralph E. and Madge T. Griswold.  "The Icon Programming
Language, Second Edition", Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey.  1990.

-- Bob Alexander

Metaphor Computer Systems   (415) 961-3600 x751   alex@metaphor.com
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