Path: utzoo!yunexus!geac!syntron!jtsv16!uunet!steinmetz!vdsvax!barnett From: barnett@vdsvax.steinmetz.ge.com (Bruce G. Barnett) Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript Subject: Re: An Idea to Help Make Postscript Easier to Read (and Write) Message-ID: <5361@vdsvax.steinmetz.ge.com> Date: 7 Sep 88 01:25:48 GMT Article-I.D.: vdsvax.5361 References: <940@helios.ee.lbl.gov> Reply-To: barnett@vdsvax.steinmetz.ge.com (Bruce G. Barnett) Organization: General Electric CRD, Schenectady, NY Lines: 32 In article <940@helios.ee.lbl.gov> forrest@ux1.lbl.gov (Jon Forrest) writes: |What about a "compiler" that converts standard postscript into |what I'll call infix/function form? I am trying to visualize a language that would let you call a procedure that returns three values on a stack, then uses two of them, does some other functions, and then uses the third. When this is nested, the problem gets worse. Then add variable binding, and delayed parsing of names. The values on the stack have no names, and the positions change with every call. The function of the names could change dynamically. A graphic language could be used, but how could a text language do this? It makes my head hurt. :-) I suppose you could convert a PostScript program to pop all values off the stack, and assign names to each value. Then all operations would be done with variables. But that program would be very inefficent. I believe you should master the language. Having a C front end for PostScript is like having a Basic or Pascal front end for C. Yes, you can do it, but you lose so much. PostScript formatters, and programs to automatically document the stack contents seem much more useful. -- Bruce G. Barnett uunet!steinmetz!barnett