Some new features_(re)

Wed, 2 Jul 1997 00:56:23 +0200 (MET DST)

According to Frank Heckenbach:
> 
> Here are a few features I'd like to see in gpc. I hope they can be
> implemented without much work...
> 
> - Commandline options to specify the directory(ies)
>   a) to search for units/modules (source or compiled)

My current plan is to use the `-L' path/s for this purpose.

>   b) to put compiled modules (.o, .gpi, .gpm)
>   c) to put compiled programs (executables).
> 
>   (They're similar to some BP options, except that BP uses the same for b)
>   and c) which I think is a bad idea, so I'd prefer different options.)

\begin{sigh}
  Even more options!
\end{sigh}

What about extending (*$executable-file-name="foo"*) to accept
a directory?  Or else (*$executable-path-name="/foo"*) and
(*$object-path-name="/bar"*)?

> - Passing the actual size for untyped (resp. void) parameters, so it can
>   be access with sizeof.

This would spoil compatibility to other languages such as C.

>   (E.g., with untyped files (at least in BP) I often have to do things like
>    "blockread(f,x,sizeof(x))", which could be simplified to
>    "blockreadvar(f,x)" then.)

So perhaps make "Procedure Foo ( Var x )" pass the size, and keep
"Procedure Foo ( Var x: Void )" as it is (i.e. without passing the size)?
Or introduce another data type?

> And for better BP compatibility:
> 
> - A function "Concat", equivalent to the operator "+" for strings. It can't
>   be declared in system.pas since (in BP) it allows an arbitrary number of
>   arguments.
>
> - Ignoring the BP directives "near" and "far" after procedure/function
>   declarations (they're irrelevant to gpc, anyway) -- only in
>   "--borland-pascal" mode, of course.

Okay; I have put it on my list.

    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 [970624] - http://home.pages.de/~gnu-pascal/ [970125]

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