From: crossd@gmail.com (Dan Cross)
Subject: [TUHS] Why Pascal is Not My Favorite Programming Language - Unearthed!
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2017 09:25:56 -0400 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAEoi9W6dzfodoMY8hrcQpsr=EfJKD_hW=_ucEh=hs20L38SnuQ@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <2ffecf6c-eda0-60e7-17c7-ca4711e1158e@telegraphics.com.au>
On Fri, Sep 1, 2017 at 3:07 PM, Toby Thain <toby at telegraphics.com.au> wrote:
> On 2017-09-01 12:22 PM, Dan Cross wrote:
> [snip]
> > But he wasn't using Pascal. The point was to wonder whether TeX and
>
> I mean in the mid-80s rewrite, of course.
But by then the major design decisions would have been made. Was TeX after
that rewrite an appreciably different language?
> METAFONT would be different programs if he were. Clem seemed to imply
> > that he thought that was unlikely, based on his previous use of SAIL.
> >
> > [snip]
> >
> > I have not compared the codebases but wouldn't one expect that the
> final
> > production TeX rewrite is *more* ambitious than the early SAIL
> version?
> > (By the time I began using/porting TeX in the 1980s, the older
> version
> > was completely obsolete.)
> >
> >
> > I don't know, but that's besides the point: the question was more about
> > how the initial programming language shaped the design of the program.
> > Specifically, had Knuth *started* in Pascal instead of SAIL, would TeX
> > have been different? To put it another way, to what extent was he
> > constrained, freed, or otherwise influenced by his medium?
>
> Maybe Professor Knuth himself has written about that, I'm not sure. A
> great question for him, anyhow.
>
> He's in an excellent position to contrast these 3 languages.
I'll shoot him an email.
I'm well aware of that, which is why I specifically mentioned lexical
> closures as (one of many) ideas with a powerful effect on expressiveness
> and style.
>
Hmm, it seems there are a number of more fundamental issues with the
language. I listed a number, mostly cribbed from Kernighan's paper and my
own experience.
- Dan C.
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next prev parent reply other threads:[~2017-09-02 13:25 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 68+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2017-08-30 12:34 arnold
2017-08-30 14:13 ` Eric Wayte
2017-08-30 14:30 ` Michael Kjörling
2017-08-30 14:43 ` Eric Wayte
2017-08-30 17:10 ` Mutiny
2017-08-30 22:33 ` Michael Parson
2017-08-31 0:55 ` Nemo
2017-08-31 13:29 ` arnold
2017-08-31 18:24 ` Nemo
2017-09-03 0:56 ` Dave Horsfall
2017-09-03 12:07 ` arnold
2017-09-03 22:03 ` Dave Horsfall
2017-09-04 12:12 ` Steffen Nurpmeso
2017-08-31 1:13 ` Bakul Shah
2017-08-31 14:48 ` Larry McVoy
2017-08-31 15:26 ` Eric Wayte
2017-08-31 16:12 ` Warner Losh
2017-08-31 17:51 ` Larry McVoy
2017-08-31 18:40 ` Clem Cole
2017-08-31 19:25 ` Steffen Nurpmeso
2017-09-01 1:57 ` Nemo
2017-09-01 14:17 ` Steffen Nurpmeso
2017-09-01 14:28 ` Arthur Krewat
2017-09-01 14:48 ` William Cheswick
2017-09-01 15:15 ` Clem Cole
2017-09-01 15:47 ` Arthur Krewat
2017-09-01 16:21 ` Nevin Liber
2017-09-01 16:34 ` Dan Cross
2017-09-02 0:24 ` Dave Horsfall
2017-08-31 19:47 ` Toby Thain
2017-08-31 20:37 ` William Cheswick
2017-08-31 20:51 ` Clem Cole
2017-09-01 0:52 ` Bakul Shah
2017-08-31 21:46 ` Larry McVoy
2017-08-31 21:59 ` Arthur Krewat
2017-08-31 22:08 ` Larry McVoy
2017-09-01 1:11 ` Steve Johnson
2017-09-01 0:57 ` David Arnold
2017-09-01 1:22 ` Bakul Shah
2017-09-01 1:26 ` Larry McVoy
2017-09-01 1:51 ` Kurt H Maier
2017-09-01 2:22 ` Bakul Shah
2017-09-01 2:27 ` Larry McVoy
2017-09-01 2:58 ` Bakul Shah
2017-09-01 3:12 ` Dan Cross
2017-09-01 2:51 ` Dan Cross
2017-08-31 20:37 ` Clem Cole
2017-08-31 21:26 ` Toby Thain
2017-09-01 2:38 ` Dan Cross
2017-09-01 3:59 ` Toby Thain
2017-09-01 15:57 ` Dan Cross
2017-09-01 16:08 ` Toby Thain
2017-09-01 18:15 ` [TUHS] Future Languages (was Pascal not Favorite...) Steve Johnson
2017-09-01 18:43 ` ron minnich
2017-09-01 23:33 ` Chris Torek
2017-09-04 20:55 ` ron minnich
2017-09-01 20:42 ` Clem Cole
2017-09-04 20:44 ` Bakul Shah
2017-09-01 13:46 ` [TUHS] Why Pascal is Not My Favorite Programming Language - Unearthed! Clem Cole
2017-09-01 14:43 ` Toby Thain
2017-09-01 15:14 ` Clem Cole
2017-09-01 16:22 ` Dan Cross
2017-09-01 19:07 ` Toby Thain
2017-09-02 13:25 ` Dan Cross [this message]
2017-09-02 15:00 ` Toby Thain
2017-09-02 15:16 Diomidis Spinellis
2017-09-02 19:53 ` Toby Thain
2017-09-03 14:48 Norman Wilson
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