Re: new_line in a put_line

[Simon Wright <simon@pushface.org>]

tmoran@acm.org writes:

> > The problem as I see it, is of course that one tries to express a
> > CRITICAL SECTION in terms of OBJECTS. This *cannot* be good. The first
> > is about execution flow control the second is about data.
>   Then you should use a task.  Using the lock object is a short, possibly
> faster, idiom to accomplish the purpose.  It's like the "good morning" in
> "Good morning gentlemen.  I have some bad news..."  You are not trying to
> say the morning is a good one, you are trying to say "ok, let's get
> started, I have the floor and want your attention." "Good morning" is
> quicker.
>   It may require some comments to explain what's going on to someone
> unfamiliar with the idiom, but it's a valuable idiom.  A recent thread
> here mentioned using an asm string scan operation in conjunction with
> boolean arrays.  A purist might say that's not what it was intended for,
> but a pragmatist would say it's an excellent idea.

I suppose the tension is between an open protocol, using lock objects,
with the risk that someone forgets to use it, and a closed protocol
which ensures that people do the right thing but requires interfaces
for all the things they need to do.