Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!hplabs!otter!hplb!cdollin!kers
From: kers@hplb.hpl.hp.com (Chris Dollin)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Breaking loops (Re: Anyone want to design a language?)
Message-ID: <KERS.90Feb23100957@cdollin.hpl.hp.com>
Date: 23 Feb 90 15:09:57 GMT
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In-reply-to: jlg@lambda.UUCP's message of 22 Feb 90 22:08:30 GMT


Jim Giles writes:

   I)   Recursive data types.
   ...
	   (Functional languages usually don't allow cyclic data structures.)

Any such functional languages are brain-dead. The non-strict (often sloppily
[and I'm no exception!] referred to as "lazy") languages permit circular
structures as in eg

    let rec ones = cons( 1, ones )

[The syntax, of course, varies]. The strict languages (such as ML and Scheme,
if we permit them to enjoy the adjective "functional") contain assignments
which permits the construction of circular structures.

Regards, "But I program in Pop-11 whenever I can" Kers.