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From: emjej@uokvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: Orphaned Response - (nf)
Message-ID: <4483@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 13-Dec-83 23:01:23 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.4483
Posted: Tue Dec 13 23:01:23 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 16-Dec-83 01:36:33 EST
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#R:vax2:-81700:uokvax:9000010:000:826
uokvax!emjej    Dec 12 11:56:00 1983

Russell avoids elaboration/expansion at times precisely to permit the
kinds of self-referential types that could cause it to go off the deep
end (such as are recommended by folks who don't like the notion of
"pointer," of which I'm becoming one as time goes on). Despite this,
it manages quite thorough type-checking at run time, with a surprisingly
small, elegant method, too. (Said method is a hair counterintuitive in
places, such as where it requires "Array[M] of Zot" to be considered
different from "Array[N] of Zot" even if M and N turn out to be the
same, but...)

I do hope that folks more knowledgeable about Russell than I are provoked
enough by my vague explanation to reply with something more thorough
(so that I can send mail saying "PLEEEZE, tell me where there's a compiler
for Russell!").

						James Jones