Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!jarthur!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sunybcs!boulder!gore!jacob
From: jacob@gore.com (Jacob Gore)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.eiffel
Subject: Re: Comments on proposed Eiffel language changes
Message-ID: <120015@gore.com>
Date: 21 Feb 90 16:09:20 GMT
References: <48a55876.12c9a@digital.sps.mot.com>
Reply-To: jacob@gore.com (Jacob Gore)
Organization: Gore Enterprises
Lines: 17

/ comp.lang.eiffel / sakkinen@tukki.jyu.fi (Markku Sakkinen) / Feb 21, 1990 /
> Some old Algol-60 compiler(s) required the language keywords
> to be within apostrophes:
>    'begin' 'integer' n, m ... 'end'
> Is that called 'stropping' also? It wasn't such a bad idea:
> now when language standards are updated and new features added,
> there is often a problem of new keywords clashing with identifiers
> in existing software.

My understanding is that in those days the expectation was that Algol
keywords would become part of the character set and engraved on keyboards
(think that's silly? think APL).  Denoting keywords with apostrophes was a
nice, cheap, workaround in the meantime.

Jacob
--
Jacob Gore		Jacob@Gore.Com			boulder!gore!jacob