Re: X-Spec (was: "RPG isn't cool")

[Carsten Flensburg <novasol@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

boldt@ca.ibm.com wrote:
> 
> 
> 1) IFxx, DOWxx, etc.  There are currently expression alternatives
>    for these, so why bother carrying these forward in the new
>    scheme.  Do we support these in the CF-Spec?  ie. Do we allow
>    code like:  " CF   ifeq counter 17 "?
> 
> 2) String ops:  SCAN, SUBST, XLATE, etc.  There are expression
>    or BIF alternatives (or will be) for most (possibly all) of
>    these.  Do we support these opcodes in the CF-Spec?
> 
> 3) Move ops:  MOVE, MOVEL.  You could code EVAL/EVALR for many
>    moves, but not all MOVEs are easily convertible to the EVAL
>    statement.  Do we support MOVEs in the CF-Spec?  (If not, we
>    would have to add additional new BIFs, which still wouldn't
>    cover all of MOVE semantics.)
> 
> 4) Arithmetic ops:  ADD, SUB, etc.  As many have already
>    discovered, arithmetic in expressions is not totally
>    compatible with arithmetic in the fixed opcodes.  Do we
>    support these in the CF-Spec?  ie.  Do we allow code
>    like:  " CF  add 1 counter "?
> 
> (This list isn't complete, but is representative enough for the
> purpose of helping us decide the issue.)
> 
> So, the general issue is how much of the "old" stuff do we carry
> forward in the CF-Spec and how much can we leave behind?
> 

Hi Hans,

Thanks for taking the lid off the pot - once again!

I'd opt for carrying as little of the "old" stuff forward as possible;
keeping the free format as clean as possible. Rather than spending
ressources on mutating the fixed opcodes I would suggest using the time
and money on developing bif's or free format equivalents where
necessary:

1) No  - no gain

2) No  - get the remaining bifs written instead

3) Yes - as you mention MOVE(L) has a variety of functions not easily
         covered otherwise

4) No  - I'd rather see the ++ function added and as for overflow
issues          I'd prefer to code defensively where appropriate - this
will            also make my intentions clearer for the next
programmer                 having a look at the code.

Thanks for listening!

Best regards,
Carsten Flensburg

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