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From: g-frank@gumby.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: levelheight
Message-ID: <256@gumby.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 22-Jan-85 10:42:31 EST
Article-I.D.: gumby.256
Posted: Tue Jan 22 10:42:31 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Jan-85 19:17:23 EST
References: <2340@hplabsc.UUCP> <4948@utzoo.UUCP> <6292@boring.UUCP> <354@topaz.ARPA>
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 33

> 2) Pascal style:  The language knows about all the types and keeps
> strict track of them to let you know when you make a mistake.
> Essentially the compiler works as an automated cribsheet to help you
> keep track of the mass of detail you had to keep in your head before.
> 
> 3) APL style:  The language presents the single concept "number"
> to the programmer, who never has to worry about the implementation
> thereof.  The programmer never even knows whether that number was
> actually represented as a bit, integer, float, whatever.  The 
> machinery of the system does all the worrying.
> 
> Styles 2 and 3 have the common problem that the implementation
> is restrictive; that is, the implementor (designer) must have had
> in mind the kind of thing you are trying to do, or you can't
> do it.

It depends what you mean by restrictive.  If a language has rich enough
tools for creating new types and defining operations on those types (Ada,
for example), you can do almost anything, type-wise.  The whole point of
derived types is that the implementor of the language admits that he/she
DIDN'T know what your were going to do, and provides suitable outlet for
your creativity.

Can you give examples of things Pascal prevents you from doing, type-wise
(leave out decent i/o, casts and type conversions, stuff like that - we all
know that these are silly omissions from the language, and they ARE in
Modula-2)?


-- 
      Dan Frank

	"good news is just life's way of keeping you off balance."