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From: ndiamond@watdaisy.UUCP (Norman Diamond)
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: ANSI BASIC
Message-ID: <7103@watdaisy.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-Mar-85 13:45:45 EST
Article-I.D.: watdaisy.7103
Posted: Thu Mar 21 13:45:45 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Mar-85 01:49:56 EST
References: <443@vax2.fluke.UUCP> <1397@orca.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 37

> Oh, yeah?  Where were YOU when the call went out for people to
> participate in the ANSI Basic committee?  Where were YOU when the first
> public review began in 1983, and the community was implored to comment
> upon the draft standard?  Where were YOU during the second public
> review in 1984?  Why are you only now, when the ten-year process is
> complete, coming in to complain that you don't care for the result?

You weren't talking to me, but I know two answers.  One applies to Basic,
C, and Pascal; one applies to Fortran-77.

Regarding Basic, C, and Pascal:  When it was announced or otherwise known
that a standard was going to be upgraded, how would I know that in fact,
new languages were going to be developed but just given the old names?
ANSI Basic is as close to "traditional" Basics as PL/I is to Fortran.
C and Pascal are somewhat better, except for pre-processor stuff and
tri-graphs in C.  Now that we know, we complain.

It may have been possible to predict what would happen, after seeing the
results in Fortran-77.  However, I have not needed Fortran very much during
the last 7 years, and did not "learn" Fortran-77 until last year.  A ton
of stuff was added that does not belong in Fortran.  If someone wanted to
invent a new language with exactly that syntax for character strings etc.,
they should have done so; they should not have called it Fortran.

I suppose that the next time I hear of a committee beginning to re-standardize
a language, I will complain immediately that they're adding too many new
features and/or mis-features, before I even know what they are.

-- 

   Norman Diamond

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"Opinions are those of the keyboard, and do not reflect on me or higher-ups."