Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!lll-crg!nike!ucbcad!ucbvax!XEROX.COM!Felton.pa
From: Felton.pa@XEROX.COM
Newsgroups: net.micro.atari16
Subject: Re: ACTION and the ST
Message-ID: <860922-124322-1026@Xerox>
Date: Mon, 22-Sep-86 15:25:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: Xerox.860922-124322-1026
Posted: Mon Sep 22 15:25:47 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 22-Sep-86 22:00:26 EDT
References: <1050@batcomputer.TN.CORNELL.EDU>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 28

> If there are people reading this and longing for an "easy" language
> or interactive (but not reverse Polish) environment, let us hear!


	You have just described me perfectly. Why can't we have a block
structured language and an interactive programming environment at the
same time?! The reason that Turbo Pascal and ACTION! are so popular is
the integration of the edit/compile/run cycle into one environment. This
could be taken a step further by creating an interpreter for development
and a compiler for generating the finished object code. Right now I'm
using Pascal and Modula II (I can't stand C's syntax). But, as soon as
there is a block structured language available that allows memory to
memory compiles (or better yet incremental compilation), I am going to
switch to it.

	HBASIC sounds like it could be good, but, I don't know if I would be
willing to give up local variables, and complex data structures (does it
support these?). It has been my experience that 90% of the execution
time that a program uses is due to 10% of the code. Often this code is
simple and highly repetitve (moving a block of memory for example). It
makes since to implement this part of the program in assembly and the
rest in a highly interactive (though possibly slower) language. HBasic
just might do the trick.
	

John

p.s. Hurry up Clint. I'll buy ACTION! the second that it comes out.