ShortStr_(re)

Thu, 1 May 1997 12:29:09 +0200 (MET DST)

According to Kim Robert Blix:
> 
> When it comes to compability on the issue of strings, would'nt it be 
> natural to call the short string version just "string" and the long 
> one "longstr", instead of the other way around? 

This would break compatibility to the Extended Pascal standard.

But it could be reasonable to do it like you wrote in `--ucsd-pascal'
and `--borland-pascal' mode.

What about the following:  Make `LongString' denote Extended Pascal
string schemata, and `ShortString' denote UCSD/Borland Pascal strings;
let `String' be the same as `LongString' in default mode but the same
as `ShortString' in Borland Pascal mode; finally introduce more options
`--short-strings' and `--long-strings' to change these defaults?

Another idea, perhaps even better:  let "String ( 255 )" or
"LongString ( 255 )" denote an Extended Pascal (long) string, but 
"String [ 255 ]" or "ShortString [ 255 ]" an UCSD Pascal (short)
string?  Like this, both Extended Pascal and Borland Pascal programs
will just compile.  Needless to say that `--extended-pascal' will
switch off "String [ 255 ]" and `--borland-pascal' will switch off
"String ( 255 )" ...

Anyway, this is a long-term plan.

Greetings,

    Peter

  Dipl.-Phys. Peter Gerwinski, Essen, Germany, free physicist and programmer
peter.gerwinski@uni-essen.de - http://home.pages.de/~peter.gerwinski/ [970201]
 maintainer GNU Pascal [970420] - http://home.pages.de/~gnu-pascal/ [970125]

Peter Gerwinski (peter@agnes.dida.physik.uni-essen.de)