SCOUG-Programming Mailing List Archives

>> Next Message >>

Date:	Fri, 8 Aug 2003 07:18:04 PDT7
From:	Tom Novelli <tcn@mtdata.com >
Reply-To:	scoug-programming@scoug.com
To:	< "scoug-programming@scoug.com" > scoug-programming@scoug.com >
Subject:	SCOUG-Programming: Object-Oriented Programming

Content Type: text/plain

Lynn H. Maxson wrote:
> I haven't mentioned "unspec" which converts any character
> into an 8-bit string, and "substr" which allow you then to to
> select and change any sequence (1 or more) of bits, and then
> use it to put the result back into the original character
> location. "unspec" and "substr" are only two of the many PL/I
> builtin functions, part of the reason that PL/I is a complete
> language which C is not without a library. That's important
> because while C may be portable, libraries tend to be less so.

It's a moot point.. "builtin functions" is just another name for a
standard library. Since the C library isn't built into the compiler, I
can use it with any compiler and any language.

I still say C is closer to assembler, in a bad way... there's probably
nothing to gain for systems programming and it's lousy for portability.

I like these PL/I data types... it's a simple matter to carry if a
variable is too big to fit in a register, and the compiler can use twice
as many bits for the product of multiplication (I wish C would do that),
and so on. Since I'm used to C, I could always declare "int" as a
shorthand for "fixed bin(32)". I think it goes a little overboard,
though... I don't see why types like "complex" and "file" should have
anything to do with the compiler; in C++ they're just composite types
("classes") built up from the basic floats, ints and pointers... I've used
libraries with vector and matrix types, with seamless arithmetic operators
coded in inline assembly. Now what's the difference between PL/I "float"
and "real"?

=====================================================

To unsubscribe from this list, send an email message
to "steward@scoug.com". In the body of the message,
put the command "unsubscribe scoug-programming".

For problems, contact the list owner at
"rollin@scoug.com".

=====================================================

Return to [ 08 | August | 2003 ]

SCOUG, Warp Expo West, and Warpfest are trademarks of the Southern California OS/2 User Group. OS/2, Workplace Shell, and IBM are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.