From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 107f24,a964c15062937091 X-Google-Attributes: gid107f24,public X-Google-Thread: f891f,9d58048b8113c00f X-Google-Attributes: gidf891f,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,9d58048b8113c00f X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public X-Google-Thread: 101deb,b20bb06b63f6e65 X-Google-Attributes: gid101deb,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,2e71cf22768a124d X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: claird@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM (Cameron Laird) Subject: Re: "Assert"? "Assume"? (was: next "big" language?? (disagree)) Date: 1996/07/01 Message-ID: <4r9fb1$91@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 163162838 references: <4ql1fv$5ss@goanna.cs.rmit.EDU.AU> <4qsbm7$r1s@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> organization: NeoSoft, Inc. +1 713 968 5800 followup-to: comp.lang.misc newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.lang.misc,comp.lang.pl1,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.functional Date: 1996-07-01T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article <4qsbm7$r1s@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM>, I wondered: . . . >Now I'm lost; what kind of people argue for the utility of >Fact()? If this congregation thinks pre-processors are >inherently problematic (they are), then surely we can >recognize that a Fact() is a confession that the language >in question promotes implementations which over-specify, >in comparison to their corresponding designs. A different >way to say the same thing: if P is sufficiently important >for Fact(P) to be of consequence, then it ought to be >natural to declare P *in* the language. . . . Now I get it. In my own crude language, Fact() or Assert() is an ingredient from the workshop of com- puter language theory. It certainly is a construct that be defined, and has definite benefits. >From the standpoint of software engineering, though, it's hard for me to imagine a situation where the costs don't overweigh those benefits. Thanks to those who wrote to elucidate Assert(). Follow-ups severely narrowed. -- Cameron Laird http://starbase.neosoft.com/~claird/home.html claird@NeoSoft.com +1 713 623 8000 #227 +1 713 996 8546 FAX