Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!jipping@frodo.cs.hope.EDU
From: jipping@frodo.cs.hope.EDU (Mike Jipping)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.pascal
Subject: Re: Loops
Message-ID: <12943@brl-adm.ARPA>
Date: 13 Apr 88 03:42:01 GMT
Sender: news@brl-adm.ARPA
Lines: 22

In responding about for loops and scope of control variables, 
Ralf.Brown@b.gp.cs.cmu.edu writes:

> I don't know about Turbo Pascal 4.0, but versions 1 through 3 use a "hidden"
> variable for the loop counter, so you can change the visible loop counter
> to your heart's content and the loop will still execute exactly the same
> number of times.

Here's a "what-do-you-folks-think" question:  Borland obviously implemented
for loops this way to get around the changing-the-control-variable problem.
I think it's dumb -- at best, a crummy way to implement the loop, and a nice
way to trip up users.  It uses implicit declaration -- something found in 
FORTRAN (gasp) and some BASICs (argh).  Ada uses the same scheme for the FOR
loop.  

Fortunately, Borland went back to the ol' real-live-declared control
variable approach in Turbo 4.0.
                                            -- Mike
      Mike Jipping
      Hope College
      Department of Computer Science
      jipping@cs.hope.edu