On Friday, December 8th, 1995 - Evan Langlois wrote:
 
EL> Yes, the local function/operator saves the old value of the variable 
EL> on the stack, and pops it when the block ends.  
 
I much prefer the way C handles the scope of variable names.
 
EL>  You COULD re-use a variable name in every local function, however the
EL>  book-keeping on it is tough, and .. what if you want more than one
 
There is no book-keeping whatsoever, since you don't care what the value 
of the variable is once it has done its job.  You would just have to
initialize it at the top of each function to make sure it doesn't
contain a spurious value, or simple use the LOCAL thing on it.  My idea
here is to avoid the book-keeping nightmare imposed by PERL's demand
that the programmer keep track of global variable names in order to
avoid accidentally corrupting them when used locally for another
purpose.
 
With C, one need never concern himself with that.  A global variable
can be accessed within any function.  If the programmer wants to reuse
the identical name within his function as a local variable, he simply
defines it and uses it like any other automatic variable, without
worrying about the compiler forgetting which is which.  
 
EL>  book-keeping on it is tough, and .. what if you want more than one
EL> variable?  You can work it either way .. in fact, there is also a 
 
If you want more than one local variable with PERL, how do you do it
now?  Pick two global variables and LOCALize them?  Sounds a little
convoluted.  I would just use Temp1 and Temp2, etc.
 
EL> third way - all arguments are passed in the @_ array, which is 
EL> normally assigned to a list of local variables for easy access of the 
 
I would have a hard time getting used to the idea of having all
variables be global unless temporarily declared otherwise.  I think it's 
much better to have all the variables within a function be automatic and 
local unless declared otherwise.
 
EL>  The book is only $25 or so.  Get it :-)
 
I don't appear to have any need of PERL as I'm not extracting stuff out
of a database file at this time.  Before I spend any money on it I would 
want to know more about it.  What I really need are some books on C++
since that is what I plan to learn next.  :-)
 
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 Message: = * FIDO: ST_PROG =  #139 of 200 [2447 Bytes]
 Sent On: 13 Dec 95  21:46:46
 Sent By: Troy H. Cheek of 1:362/708.4
 Sent To: Rodney Rudd
 Replies: [N/A]
 Subject: Re: Atari LIVES Again!

Concerning _Atari LIVES Again!_, Rodney Rudd said to Troy H. Cheek in ST_PROG:

 TH>> Saw it over on VID_GAMES, supposedly originating on the Internet. 
 RR> 
 RR> Oh, well that conference could easily be renamed from VID_GAMES to
 RR> DISINFORMATION_CAMPAIGN.  Be sure to take your salt supplement
 RR> before reading there.  :-)

At this rate, my doctor will have to increase my blood pressure medication.
Most of it, it turns out, did come from Internet.

 TH>> I'm not so sure.  A lot of people are on the Internet these days,
 RR> 
 RR> Only 15% of the population is reported to be on-line, of which a
 RR> certain percent on the Internet, of which a certain percent are tuned
 RR> into a game conference, of which only a few are interested in buying
 RR> a Jaguar. America's 10 and 11 year olds know nothing of this topic

There's a certain percentage online, then there's a larger percentage not
online, but someone in their circle is, and he passes on the rumors he hears.
 I've been in those circles, and I've seen people base purchases on
information an online friend has gathered for them.

 RR>> they can handle.  Nobody of any statistical importance is going to
 RR>> "wait and see".  The public will buy or not buy based on their
 RR>> impulses, the price, and advertising.
 RR> 
 TH>> At least one member of the public has said that he was about to buy
 TH>> a JagCD when he heard the rumors and decided to "wait and see".
 RR> 
 RR> As I said, nobody of STATISTICAL importance.  One or two guys that
 RR> are big enough SUCKERS to believe everything that spews forth from
 RR> the Internet are not an accurate or representative sample of the
 RR> Jaguar's target audience.  Enjoy.  :-)

I don't have a statistical sample.  What I do have are people who claim to
know a lot more about Fidonet than I do saying that for every person who
posts something, there are at least 100 people who never post but think the
exact same way.

 RR> The rumors are not nearly as scary as the lack of a really awe
 RR> inspiring TV ad.  The Playstation ads have my eyes popping out.
 RR> Atari's ad makes me go zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Playstation ads have my eyes glazing over.  Same with the Sega Saturn. Of
course, you have to watch really close to even figure out which system the
commercial is for.

... /|\tari Cowboy -> Rayman + NOW + Action/Adv + $69.99 + Ubi Soft

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