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From: richw@ada-uts
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: Multiple assignments [long, but
Message-ID: <15100026@ada-uts>
Date: Mon, 2-Jun-86 21:22:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ada-uts.15100026
Posted: Mon Jun  2 21:22:00 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 9-Jun-86 01:16:10 EDT
References: <1674@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Lines: 22
Nf-ID: #R:umcp-cs.UUCP:1674:ada-uts:15100026:000:705
Nf-From: ada-uts!richw    Jun  2 21:22:00 1986


CLU supports multiple assignment to some extent.  For instance, you
can use the following to swap the values of two variables:

    x, y := y, x

You can even define procedures which return more than one result.
As an example header, you could define a procedure to return the
numerator and the denominator (after reduction) for a fraction:

    components = proc (f : Fraction) returns (int, int)

However, CLU limits the use of such a procedure.  Although you can
"catch" the results using assignment:

    n, d := Fraction$components(f)

you can't use both results as procedure arguments in one call:

    sum := Int$add(Fraction$components(f))     % Nope !

(note that %'s introduce comments in CLU).