Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2.fluke 9/24/84; site fluke.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!fluke!kurt From: kurt@fluke.UUCP (Kurt Guntheroth) Newsgroups: net.lang Subject: Re: Another Basic. Message-ID: <420@vax2.fluke.UUCP> Date: Fri, 1-Mar-85 12:07:15 EST Article-I.D.: vax2.420 Posted: Fri Mar 1 12:07:15 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 3-Mar-85 05:11:11 EST References: <2778@dartvax.UUCP> Reply-To: kurt@fluke.UUCP (Kurt Guntheroth) Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA Lines: 21 ANSI BASIC is indeed different from other BASICs. It isn't really BASIC at all. It isn't even a language. Imagine a 'BASIC' which has the following properties: 1. Impossible to interpret (efficiently) 2. Three ways to declare an array 3. Five ways to denote a function, plus program chaining. 4. Concurrency (an option at least) 5. Breaks 100 percent of all existing BASIC programs, no matter how simple due to REQUIRED new syntax. 6. Makes BCD (inefficient) floating point the standard to preserve precision in financial arithmetic, then provides fixed point numbers for financial arithmetic, then doesn't bother to provide (efficient) integers, even though many numbers in BASIC are required to be integral. If you think I'm kidding, think again. Get ahold of the ANSI BASIC standard and you will see it all there. It is unbelievable. -- Kurt Guntheroth John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc. {uw-beaver,decvax!microsof,ucbvax!lbl-csam,allegra,ssc-vax}!fluke!kurt