On 3/6/07, bill lam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On reflection Wirth is correct that it is easy to write incorrect program using a language that is not type-safe (both c and J).
Sure. Of course, this statement would be completely true if you also removed the "that is not type-safe" phrase. "Type safe" languages make it difficult (but not impossible) to express certain mathematical concepts. This tends to translate into bloat, and extra conditionals, in cases where you need those concepts. In my experience, it's testing (and debugging) which makes programs error free -- not the underlying language. The language itself provides you access to certain facilities, and it's a good fit if it let's you do what you need to without getting in the way. That said, ensuring you've tested every part of a program becomes significantly harder as more conditional statements are incorporated. That said, C is not simply "not type safe" -- it's also intentionally ambiguous, and crude, in many respects. This is meant to reflect the character of the underlying machines, but it requires a fair bit of thought from the programmer. FYI, -- Raul ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
