From: Gautier <gautier.demontmollin@maths.unine.ch>
Subject: Re: From extended Pascals to Ada 95 guide
Date: 2000/08/25
Date: 2000-08-25T00:00:00+00:00 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <39A655BE.18E89020@maths.unine.ch> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 8o4bfq$v0h$1@slb7.atl.mindspring.net
James Smith:
> Too bad the US gov didn't save some taxpayer dollars by just adopting Modula
> 2. Of course that would have made too much sense.
To save dollars they also could have adopted C...
With Modula-2, they should have spent perhaps more than Ada to make it usable...
The main problem with Modula-2 is that it keeps the rigid types
of "classic" Pascal. No problem for teaching or write a
"Pascal in Pascal" compiler, but for the real world you need
a flexible typing like "array(integer range <>) of..."
The second problem is the modularity: you have to open manually
the visibility for *all* identifiers you need! It made things
easier for writing a compiler, but it rapidily took longer to
write and maintain the "FROM...IMPORT..."s, with correct casing,
than to write your programs. Just extrapolate the "Hello World"
to have an idea...
MODULE PrintHelloWorld;
FROM InOut IMPORT WriteString, WriteLn;
BEGIN
WriteString('Hello world!');
WriteLn;
END PrintHelloWorld.
Another big problem was the library: there were vague recommendations
for text I/O, and iirc, nothing more. As a result, even "Hello World"
was non portable: some compilers wanted "WriteString('Hello world!');",
others wanted "WRITESTRING('Hello world!');" I let you guess what the
mess was with Math libraries...
Finally I doubt that the average US programmer would have been
patient enough to stand more than 5 minutes before Modula-2...
Already in Europe many keyboards were severely damaged!
______________________________________________________
Gautier -- http://members.xoom.com/gdemont/gsoft.htm
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2000-08-25 0:00 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 88+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2000-08-24 0:00 From extended Pascals to Ada 95 guide gdemont
2000-08-24 0:00 ` James Smith
2000-08-24 0:00 ` ODRe: " Richard Riehle
2000-08-29 0:00 ` James Smith
2000-08-30 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Tarjei T. Jensen
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Robert Deininger
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Gautier [this message]
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Preben Randhol
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Pat Rogers
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Larry Elmore
2000-08-26 0:00 ` Dimmy Timchenko
2000-08-26 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
2000-08-27 0:00 ` David Botton
2000-08-27 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
2000-08-27 0:00 ` David Botton
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
2000-08-27 0:00 ` tmoran
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
2000-08-29 0:00 ` Gautier
[not found] ` <017801c0105d$06e88ac0$cf18b70a@db2000>
2000-08-27 0:00 ` tmoran
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Larry Kilgallen
2000-09-06 0:18 ` John English
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Ray Blaak
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Pat Rogers
2000-08-26 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
2000-08-26 0:00 ` Robert C. Leif, Ph.D.
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Gautier
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-25 0:00 ` Charles Hixson
2000-08-26 0:00 ` steve
2000-08-26 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-27 0:00 ` David Botton
2000-08-28 6:41 ` Ole-Hjalmar Kristensen
2000-08-28 0:00 ` David Botton
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Gautier
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Gautier
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Charles Hixson
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marin D. Condic
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Larry Elmore
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Gautier
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Richard Riehle
2000-08-29 6:53 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-26 0:00 ` Robert C. Leif, Ph.D.
2000-08-27 0:00 ` Ronald Cole
2000-08-27 0:00 ` Richard Kenner
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Ronald Cole
2000-08-27 0:00 ` David Starner
2000-08-27 0:00 ` Al Christians
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Gautier
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Al Christians
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Ray Blaak
2000-08-28 0:00 ` nabbasi
2000-08-29 0:00 ` Ehud Lamm
2000-08-29 0:00 ` Larry Kilgallen
2000-08-29 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-29 0:00 ` Gautier
2000-08-29 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-08-29 0:00 ` Jonas Maebe
2000-09-06 0:38 ` John English
2000-09-08 18:41 ` Stefan Skoglund
2000-09-08 19:24 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-09-09 17:50 ` Stefan Skoglund
2000-09-10 16:40 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-09-11 0:59 ` Ken Garlington
2000-09-11 13:01 ` John English
2000-09-11 14:45 ` Ehud Lamm
2000-09-11 19:32 ` Marco van de Voort
2000-09-27 23:03 ` John English
2000-08-29 0:00 ` Brian Rogoff
2000-08-29 0:00 ` David Starner
2000-08-29 0:00 ` Charles Hixson
2000-08-30 0:00 ` Gary Scott
2000-08-30 0:00 ` Charles Hixson
2000-08-30 0:00 ` Gary Scott
2000-09-06 0:26 ` John English
2000-09-06 16:08 ` Charles Hixson
2000-08-28 0:00 ` Marco van de Voort
[not found] <01a101c0106f$745c3c70$cf18b70a@db2000>
2000-08-28 0:48 ` tmoran
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