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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