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From: cik@l.cc.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Universal OS (was Re: Survey of
Message-ID: <768@l.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 2 May 88 16:19:32 GMT
References: <2845@mmintl.UUCP> <1543@hubcap.UUCP>
Organization: Purdue University Statistics Department
Lines: 29
Summary: PL/I and ADA are examples of how not to do it.

In article <1543@hubcap.UUCP>, fpst@hubcap.UUCP (Steve Stevenson) writes:
> 
>  In article <762@l.cc.purdue.edu> cik@l.cc.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin) writes:
> >The language ... should ... try to include it _all_.
> 
> You really don't want this WITHOUT a tremendous thought.  PL/I and ADA are
> the obvious counterexamples.

The problems with PL/I, which did try to include it all, and ADA are that
they assumed that the bad notations of the predecessors should be continued.
The assembler notation, after which PL/I is largely modeled, is the main
reason that direct assembler code is not used more.  There is no machine
to my knowledge which is as complicated as BASIC, let alone the other HLLs.
ADA did not really try to include it all, and admittedly made no attempt to
provide easily writable code.  The resulting code was therefore not easily
readable.  We can do much better.

We cannot do even a fair job if the job is done by those who have designed the
present stuff.  We need people with imagination, who are aware _that we are
essentially ignorant_, and who are willing and eager to ask for what is wanted.
And they must realize that the resulting system will probably be inadequate,
and therefore must be easily extensible.  This means that the user must be
able to use notation which he considers easy to read, as long as that notation
is not already coopted, and in some cases it might be necessary to change
existing notation.  This is done in mathematics all the time, and does not
lead to problems.
-- 
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907
Phone: (317)494-6054
hrubin@l.cc.purdue.edu (ARPA or UUCP) or hrubin@purccvm.bitnet