Author: David Rasmussen
Date: 05:27:51 01/12/03
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On January 11, 2003 at 23:26:49, Robert Hyatt wrote: > >I am not convinced that a "better" language can be created, given all the >different ways C is used. IE pointers are a big headache to many. Do without >'em. Use Java. But many of us rely heavily on pointers. Ditto for other >ideas that let us get closer to the hardware. IE Pascal tried to tightly >define all data types. And then someone discovered that trying to write >compilers in that language was very messy without some sort of "union"-like >facility, and it was added. And the language became less "pure" and more >"useful" in one stroke. > >For many applications, none of this matters. For time-critical applications, >including operating systems and chess, it matters in a big way. If I were doing >a math-type program I would probably use APL. If I were dealing with text >data only, I'd probably use Snobol4. I've done applications in PL/1 and ADA >also. Not to mention Cray Blitz (FORTRAN) and things in COBOL. And basic. >And Algol. But the more the compiler tries to hide the architecture, the less >useful it becomes for certain applications. > >For a high-performance (chess) application, understanding the architecture, >and then being able to "get to" that architecture is critical. And the mystery >of data type lengths takes away from what is needed. I am not talking about hiding anything or making anything more abstract. That's why I wrote "the same goals and strengths as C" and "systems programming language". I am talking about a language at the same level, but much much cleaner, simpler and less error prone. C has a lot of properties that don't help anyone but are only historical oddities, and on the other hand lacks a lot of useful features that would help almost everyone without hurting anybody, not even people who has to do very low level programming. /David
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