At 17:25 97/08/20, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>On 20 Aug, Hans Aberg wrote:
>> Is it not possible to make the versions upwards compatible, so that
>> Haskell 1.4 code somehow can be run on Haskell 1.5? Does "being stable"
>> need to mean unchangeable?
>
>Well, one way would be to require a directive at the head of every file
>saying (for example)
>
>Haskell 1.4
>
>And then compilers could always say "Not interested in compiling
>Haskell 1.4 programmes"...
For this idea to make sense, it needs some automatization for the user,
either by making sure Haskell 1.5 recognizes the code, and knows how to
interpret it (or coming with suggestions on how to modify the code), or by
that there is a code translator 1.4->1.5. (Perhaps via an upgrade monad.
:-) )
After all, a lot of work has been spent making personal computers upwards
compatible, so why not computer languages?
Hans Aberg
* AMS member: Listing <http://www.ams.org/cml/>
* Email: Hans Aberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
