Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 (MC840302); site boring.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!mcvax!boring!steven From: steven@boring.UUCP Newsgroups: net.lang Subject: Re: Reading programs left-to-right. Message-ID: <6572@boring.UUCP> Date: Mon, 12-Aug-85 17:50:04 EDT Article-I.D.: boring.6572 Posted: Mon Aug 12 17:50:04 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 14-Aug-85 02:06:18 EDT References: <6571@boring.UUCP> Reply-To: steven@boring.UUCP (Steven Pemberton) Organization: CWI, Amsterdam Lines: 24 Apparently-To: rnews@mcvax.LOCAL In article <6571@boring.UUCP> jack@mcvax.UUCP (Jack Jansen) writes: > Something that caught my attention a while ago is the following: > > Why do most programming languages do assignments like > [rather than] > ... > I remember seeing a language with the second type assigments once, > but it hasn't seemed to catch on. I've used a couple of languages that assigned that way round. But what about COBOL? Not caught on, you say? Might I also point out that the new language B (not the predecessor of C - no flames please), developed just down the corridor from you, also has the this type of assignment? Steven Pemberton, CWI, Amsterdam; steven@mcvax.UUCP (Well, *someone* had to say it.) P.S. Actually I can think of a reason: if assignments were the other way round, you'd have your Lvalues on the right, and your Rvalues on the left; clearly undesirable :-).