Re: Which "/" is referenced in a numeric literal expression?

[jgamache@mailgw.sanders.lockheed.com (Joe Gamache)]

In article <dewar.824904896@schonberg>, dewar@cs.nyu.edu says...
>
>Joe said
>
>"The reduced version of my point is simple: since the example made use
>of a "style" that should be avoided, the answer to the language questi
>on
>is somewhat moot.  Not that the question should not be answered.  But
>rather, "here's the answer, BTW it doesn't matter since you shouldn't
>ever be doing this anyway....""
>
>Sorry, that is an untenable position. The language point in question w
>as
>completely independent of style. The point could have come up in progr
>ams
>consistent with any style you want. The idea that language examples us
>ed
>to discuss language issues should be in "good style" whatever that mea
>ns
>(style, unlike language issues is notoriously subjective) is completel
>y
>unhelpful.
>
The position is, in fact, easily defendable.  Perhaps you should more
carefully research the prior posts in this thread.  The originator 
_actually_ had a question about the use of _constants_ in some GNAT
supplied software.  In the simplication "process", this facit concerning
constants was removed.  Thus, the "simplified" model was generalizable
(if that is a word...) to an ADT package.  Your _opinion_ may be that 
ADT packages have no rules, or are "completely independent of style."
My _opinion_ is that there are certain rules which should _always_ be
complied with on such packages.  Chief among these is compliance with
the rules first outlined by Parnas (in "On the Criteria to be used in 
Decomposing a System in Modules") back in 1972: in this he says, 
a "data structure, its internal linkings, accessing procedures and
modifying procedures are part of a single module".  This rule was 
delinated further by Liskov and Zilles in 1975: "... with the constraint
that the behavior of the objects can be observed only by applications 
of the operations".  I merely pointed out the inconsistency between 
the original post and these tenets.  Ironically, had the intent of the
_real_ problem, involving the use of constants, been maintained, my 
objections disappear.  As always in these matters, you and anyone else
are free to feel otherwise....

----------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Gamache
Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Co.