Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!R_Tim_Coslet
From: R_Tim_Coslet@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.lang.pascal
Subject: Re: Scope question
Message-ID: <4228@cup.portal.com>
Date: 31 Mar 88 05:12:26 GMT
References: <718@virginia.acc.virginia.edu>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 38
XPortal-User-Id: 1.1001.4086


Steve Losen     scl@virginia.edu
University of Virginia Academic Computing Center
	Writes:
>The following pascal program compiles and outputs "10" with the Berkeley
>pascal compiler "pc".

	[.... deleted text ....]

>As far as I can tell, then, the pascal fragment
>
>const c = c;
>
>should not be allowed even if c is a constant defined in an enclosing
>block.  Is my interpretation of the pascal standard correct?  Since I'm
>writing a pascal compiler, I need to have this issue cleared up.
>
>A further note:
>
>	The Berkeley pascal compiler also accepts fragments like this:
>
>type thing = array [1..10] of thing; { where "thing" is a type defined
>	in an enclosing block }
>
>This also appears to be illegal according to the ISO pascal standard.
>
>Does anyone out there agree/disagree/care?

I definitely agree that the above examples are potentially ambigious...
I tend to agree with your interpretation of the ISO standard...

However I don't know as it makes alot of difference, as such code
does not seem to have any useful purpose (perhaps you could suggest one).

When compiled by a compiler meeting the ISO standard as you have
discribed it, the compiler should probably flag such lines as:
Error - Self Referential Declaration, unable to determine value.

Hmm... interesting idea: Self Referential Declarations...   :-)