Path: csiph.com!goblin2!goblin3!goblin.stu.neva.ru!news.misty.com!news.iecc.com!.POSTED.news.iecc.com!nerds-end From: Gene Wirchenko Newsgroups: comp.compilers Subject: Re: language design after Algol 60, was Add nested-function support Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2018 11:04:30 -0700 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 49 Sender: news@iecc.com Approved: comp.compilers@iecc.com Message-ID: <18-04-032@comp.compilers> References: <18-04-029@comp.compilers> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Info: gal.iecc.com; posting-host="news.iecc.com:2001:470:1f07:1126:0:676f:7373:6970"; logging-data="60288"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@iecc.com" Keywords: design, history Posted-Date: 11 Apr 2018 13:21:14 EDT X-submission-address: compilers@iecc.com X-moderator-address: compilers-request@iecc.com X-FAQ-and-archives: http://compilers.iecc.com Xref: csiph.com comp.compilers:2051 On Tue, 10 Apr 2018 16:11:29 +0100, Martin Ward wrote: [some neat stuff which Our Esteemed Moderator comments on] >[In fairness, a lot of the 700 pages of the C standard are about >the library. In my copy of C99, pages 9-163 are about the >language, pages 164-401 are about the library, and then there's >about 150 pages of appendices. But it's certainly a lot bigger >than the language that K&R wrote about in the 1970s. -John] I propose Gene's Language Heuristic: 1) Take the specification for the language and print a hardcover book of it. (Apply reasonable rules for font size, etc.) 2) Pick up the book. 3) If you are unable to do so, call dispose. 4) Whack the language creator hard on the head with the hardcover book. 5) Did you kill him? 6) If yes, call dispose. 7) Did you incapacitate him? 8) If yes, hope really hard that he gives up his antisocial practices of language creation. End of heuristic. 9) Seek treatment for shock. 10) Warily, learn the language. End of heuristic. procedure dispose Dispose of the book, the language, and the language creator. (Exactly how is not defined by this heuristic. If you have had to do this before, consider reusing that method.) There are too many languages that are too similar. Sincerely, Gene Wirchenko