(OT) Which flavour of Linux?

[The Natural Philosopher]

No, its just right, with enough get out of jail constructs to work around the issues.

So 0x31 isn't held to be equal to 0x01 accidentally.

[Andy Burns]

Only from the BBC Micro, and only fleetingly.

[Bob Eager]

I started using it a lot earlier...BBC BCPL was developed by the brother of the language 'inventor'.

Completely typeless!

[Huge]

Given that I have probably written more code in PDP11 assembler than in any other language (*), what's the problem with that?

:o)

(* Which goes to show how long it is since I actually cut code for a living.)

[Bob Eager]

Nothing at all. In fact, I wrote a BCPL compiler for the PDP-11...!

I've spent the last year supervising a project on writing a PDP-11 simulator - so I really had to know the architecture...OTOH I have the PDP-11 downstairs (at home) - if it worked..!

[Tim Streater]

When was this? I wrote a Z80 cross-assembler for the IBM 370 in BCPL in

1980, unfortunately I no longer have the source.

By the way if you're writing PDP-11 assembler, you should be using PL-11 (there's a brief reference to it in Wikipedia).

[Bob Eager]

A bit before that...around 1975 I think. We used it to build a terminal concentrator based on an 11/03. We later moved it to the Z80, using a compiler based on one written by a student at Cambridge - Ian someone. I did a lot of work on optimisation, particularly on bitwise operations - we were short of space on the Z80.

I later put boths compiler onto UNIX, in 1976-77. The PDP-11 one first, to 'host' the other one..!

[Tim Streater]

Did you get into BCPl because of Martin Richards (IIRC he was at Cambridge). He was in our group at CERN for a year around that time.

[Bob Eager]

I did an MSc at Essex 1973-74. It was in heavy use there. I did a portable code generator for a 'new' BCPL compiler, for my dissertation. I met Martin on several occasions.

[Gib Bogle]

Eh? Python strongly typed? That does not compute.

[Tim Watts]

Google's new Go language looks rather interesting:

[Andy Burns]

Seems like syntactic fiddling about ...

Fair enough, some reasonable bits from java/javascript backported to C.

But I *like* semicolons, and I don't like being told where to put my braces.

If you're going to mess with = and := operators, wouldn't it be more useful to clarify assignment/equality, rather than muddy the water with combined declaration/assignment?

Channels, what are they? Co-routines disguised as arguments to functions?

When a programmer is bored by new languages, is he bored with life?

[The Natural Philosopher]

No, he has just grown up.

there are as far as I am concerned only three languages really.

Structured procedural, FORTH and the specialised business oriented ones like COBOL (which is really structrured procedural) and SQL.

OOP languages are just extensions on structured procedural, whatever their proponents may say, extensions that often make life harder for programmers.

[Bob Eager]

Where would you classify (say) Haskell and Prolog?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Neverwozzas.

Academic interest only. You missed LISP.

>

[Bob Eager]

Wrong. But never mind.

I missed thousands. I did say 'say'.

[The Natural Philosopher]

So what major piece of code is written in either?

[Bob Eager]

Why does it have to be major? It just has to be 'not just of academic interest'.

OK...Haskell...used by ABN AMRO in investment banking, to measure counterparty risk on derivative portfolios. Bluespec - who are an ASIC and FPGA design vendor - develop their products in Haskell. It's also used by Eaton for the design and verification of hydraulic hybrid vehicle systems.

[Huge]

You could have had my 11/23+, except I gave it to Bletchley Park.

[Huge]

Oh, you want to a *serious* discussion? :o)

OK. I know next to nada about Python. I just wanted to use the joke.