Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!clyde!cbatt!ucbvax!nagler@seismo.CSS.GOV@olsen.UUCP From: nagler@seismo.CSS.GOV@olsen.UUCP (Robert Nagler) Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2 Subject: FYI: M2 Comments Message-ID: <8703101615.AA14931@frey.olsen.uucp> Date: Tue, 10-Mar-87 12:56:52 EST Article-I.D.: frey.8703101615.AA14931 Posted: Tue Mar 10 12:56:52 1987 Date-Received: Wed, 11-Mar-87 05:08:04 EST Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Distribution: world Organization: The ARPA Internet Lines: 13 Did any language implementers out there ever notice that Wirth does not define the syntax of a "comment" in the "Syntax of Modula-2" in the back of PIM2. They don't appear in the railroad diagrams, either. He mentions them on page 16 (3rd edition), but even there he doesn't mention that they can be nested. I realized this after playing with EBNF for some language stuff and found it very difficult to describe "arbitrary sequences of characters" in EBNF. My question is: "Was it an oversight or was it intentionally avoided?" Rob PS. Don't bother looking in the index, they aren't mentioned there.