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Date:	Sun, 13 Feb 2005 15:10:57 PST8
From:	Peter Skye <pskye@peterskye.com >
Reply-To:	scoug-programming@scoug.com
To:	scoug-programming@scoug.com
Subject:	SCOUG-Programming: Open Source Object Rexx

Content Type: text/plain

Lynn H. Maxson wrote:
>
> you have three third generation, programming
> languages--APL, LISP, and PL/I--which include everything and
> more than in all other third generation languages combined.
> So why not combine the features of all three into a single
> language.

Fine with me.

> So if I adopt a PL/I syntax for the combined language for its
> simplicity in that every program element is a statement and
> every statement ends in a semi-colon, it remains the same
> even with the additional APL operators and the LISP list
> aggregate.

Fine with me.

> Now granted I've incorporated BNF (Backus Naur Form) in the
> language. It's not my fault that Lex and Yacc do not look like
> C even though they produce C source code. Those functions
> in SL/I are written in SL/I. In that manner it is self-defining. If
> it is self-defining, it is self-extensible. The one follows the
> other.

My impression from years of bugging you is that the first step is
writing the lines of SL/I. Yes?

> I would be happy to provide you with examples of SL/I
> containing APL operators and list aggregates. The APL
> operators present a real challenge to anyone using an ascii
> editor. What I may do is attach a file to a message like this
> using OpenOffice where I can use the APL font. That says
> that you have OpenOffice available to read it. Or alternatively
> we could use PDF. Or I could just break down, taking your
> suggestion to use function calls instead of symbolic operators.

Lynn, that would be great.

I don't have OpenOffice but I think OO can output HTML which I can view,
though I don't know if the APL character set is available on my
Mozilla. PDF is fine (I have the Acrobat 3 reader). Or you can simply
substitute an ASCII string for each APL operator, in the same way that
Fortran uses .LE. for "less than or equal to".

- Peter

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