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From: cs450a03@uc780.umd.edu
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: RE: Dynamic typing (part 3)
Message-ID: <8APR91.19180152@uc780.umd.edu>
Date: 8 Apr 91 19:18:01 GMT
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I wrote:
    "Dynamic typing is when the most efficient of the available
    primitive machine representation for some value(s) is chosen at
    run-time."

David Gudeman wrote:
    I don't like that definition at all.  In the first place, it is an
    implementation-based definition rather than a semantic one.

Darren New wrote:
    I don't think it has anything to do with machine representations
    or efficiency.

Ok, ok.. I apologize.  My fault for using such an inexact expression
as "most efficient"...  [My thoughts were along the line of "most
efficient of the implemented types for the computational model" but
even that isn't very useful as a description.]

Umm... the concept I was trying to capture was something along the
lines of the difference between a type-tag + a c-struct vs a type tag
+ a c-union.  But that is totally implementation, and only one of many
possible implementations at that.  (First alternate implementation
that comes to mind the case where address ranges are used to
distinguish between different word sizes.  ... still only vaguely
related to dynamic/static typing).

Once again, sorry.

Raul Rockwell