Xref: utzoo comp.arch:4677 comp.lang.misc:1555
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!littlei!ogcvax!pase
From: pase@ogcvax.ogc.edu (Douglas M. Pase)
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Universal OS & universal language
Message-ID: <1680@ogcvax.ogc.edu>
Date: 5 May 88 23:47:44 GMT
References: <2845@mmintl.UUCP> <1543@hubcap.UUCP> <768@l.cc.purdue.edu> <1705@alliant.Alliant.COM> 
Reply-To: pase@ogcvax.UUCP (Douglas M. Pase)
Distribution: na
Organization: Oregon Graduate Center, Beaverton, OR
Lines: 35

In article  crowl@cs.rochester.edu (Lawrence Crowl) writes:
>Please remove comp.arch from the Newsgroups line when following up to this
>topic.

For that matter, please remove comp.lang.misc from the Newsgroups line also.

I have the following complaints about this latest batch of articles:

(1)	The assertions/suggestions put forth in certain previous articles
	reflect only a primitive understanding of language design (and I'm
	NOT refering to compiler design).  For all their vagueness the basic
	ideas presented seem to be more grandiose but otherwise little
	different from some of the great "has-been"s of the '60s.

	a)  This language should be everything to everybody... (Ever hear of
	PL/I or Algol 68?)

	b)  Each programmer should be able to modify the language on the fly...
	(A previous article has already brought up examples of that.)

	c)  We should adopt a UNIFORM notation...  (Aside from its obvious
	contradictions with (b) above, it's not clear that this really means
	anything.  It is clear that the implications are not understood by
	the original author.)

	d)  Efficiency is a must...  (In terms of what?  CPU time?  Programmer
	time?  Both?  Something else?  For which problems?  All?  Some special
	subset?...  How would you achieve it?)

(2)	A number of comments seem to indicate the original author considers
	language designers to be at least an "unimaginative" lot.  Judging
	from the quality of the text surrounding the claims, he who makes
	the claims is not in a position to do so.
-- 
Doug Pase  --  ...ucbvax!tektronix!ogcvax!pase  or  pase@cse.ogc.edu (CSNet)