Wolfgang Strobl wrote: > Derek Martin <c...@pizzashack.org>: > >> It took me about a half a second to grasp the "named bins" concept -- >> i.e. as soon as I was finished reading the words that explained it I >> understood it, so I'd say that based on your half-hour number, >> Python's model is substantially more complicated. > > I don't think so. Personally, I started programming by punching Fortran > IV statements into an IBM 26, submitting them as a batch job to an IBM > 7090, so the "named bins" concept is quite heavily engraved into my > brain. :-) But it didn't take me long to grasp (and enjoy!) the much > more advanced concept of variable bindings in SNOBOL4, which is similar > to Pythons, but predates Python quite some time. > > Quoting > > http://burks.bton.ac.uk/burks/language/snobol/catspaw/manual/ch6.htm > > Chapter 6 : DATA TYPES AND CONVERSION > > Most other programming languages require the user to explicitly declare > the type of data to be stored in a variable. In SNOBOL4, any variable > may contain any data type. Furthermore, the variable's type may be > freely altered during program execution. SNOBOL4 remembers what kind of > data is in each variable. > [...] > > C:\e\spitbol>spitbol test.spt > SPITBOL-386 Release 3.7(ver 1.30.16) Serial 20158 > (c) Copyright 1987-1997 Robert B. K. Dewar and Catspaw, Inc. > Snobol/Spitbol Beispiel [...] > Thanks for the memories. I developed the DECSystem-10 Spitbol implementation. I had no idea support of the language continued up to 1997, as I switched to Icon when Griswold produced that and found it a far superior language.
regards Steve -- Steve Holden +1 571 484 6266 +1 800 494 3119 Holden Web LLC http://www.holdenweb.com/ -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
