Modula-2 FAQ

[Rick Sutcliffe]

Archive-name: computer-lang/Modula2-faq/part1
Version: 3.0
Last-modified: 2009 06 01
Posting-frequency: Monthly


Modula-2 Frequently Asked Questions

The latest version is available at
http://www.arjay.bc.ca/Modula-2/m2faq.html

It will no longer be posted in its entirety to Usenet.

[Rugxulo]

Hi,

Post by Rick Sutcliffe
Archive-name: computer-lang/Modula2-faq/part1
Version: 3.0
Last-modified: 2009 06 01
Posting-frequency: Monthly
                    Modula-2 Frequently Asked Questions
The latest version is available at http://www.arjay.bc.ca/Modula-2/m2faq.html

Far be it for me to correct you, but ...

1). The actual FAQ says "version 2.37 (2011 07 01)"

2). "The current release status of GNU Modula-2 is 0.92 and it
implements the PIM variant of Modula-2 and ISO. It provides a set of
PIM libraries and also installs the ULM PIM libraries. It is known to
build on BSD, GNU/Linux, MacOS X and Solaris in both 32 and 64 bit.
Its aim is to be both ISO and PIM Modula-2 compliant. (Also, see the
next question). The next milestone of the project is the 1.0 release
at which point the compiler will become part of the main GCC
distribution."

http://www.nongnu.org/gm2/release.html
"The latest stable release is gm2-1.0.4"

However, I'm pretty sure it's still based upon an (unofficial,
patched) GCC 4.1.2 though Gaius has done some work on newer GCC. The
main problem is probably?? that no versions older than GCC 4.4.x are
still supported by GNU. But I don't know which versions (presumably
newer) he's worked on.

P.S. "followup to `poster'" [sic] doesn't seem very useful. I don't
know if that's Google Groups or your newsreader doing that. ;-)

[Chris Burrows]

"Rugxulo" <***@gmail.com> wrote in message news:c87cac99-4e34-40cb-a2ab-***@j20g2000vby.googlegroups.com...
Hi,

Post by Rick Sutcliffe
Archive-name: computer-lang/Modula2-faq/part1
Version: 3.0
Last-modified: 2009 06 01
Posting-frequency: Monthly
Modula-2 Frequently Asked Questions
The latest version is available at
http://www.arjay.bc.ca/Modula-2/m2faq.html

Far be it for me to correct you, but ...

1). The actual FAQ says "version 2.37 (2011 07 01)"

Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't bothered to read the FAQ for the last
couple of years

[Chris Burrows]

Post by Rick Sutcliffe

Post by Rick Sutcliffe
Archive-name: computer-lang/Modula2-faq/part1
Version: 3.0
Last-modified: 2009 06 01
Posting-frequency: Monthly
Modula-2 Frequently Asked Questions
The latest version is available at

http://www.arjay.bc.ca/Modula-2/m2faq.html
Far be it for me to correct you, but ...
1). The actual FAQ says "version 2.37 (2011 07 01)"

(* Oops, sorry for the duplicate post - I pressed Send too quickly ... *)

Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't bothered to read the FAQ for the last
couple of years as I didn't know it had been updated. I suspect the monthly
post is something automated that has been forgotten about.

Post by Rick Sutcliffe
P.S. "followup to `poster'" [sic] doesn't seem very useful. I don't
know if that's Google Groups or your newsreader doing that. ;-)

It's not Google Groups as it also appears that way in my nntp version of the
newsgroup,

Regards,
Chris Burrows
CFB Software
http://www.cfbsoftware.com/modula2

[Rebus]

Post by Chris Burrows

Post by Rugxulo
P.S. "followup to `poster'" [sic] doesn't seem very

useful. I don't

Post by Chris Burrows

Post by Rugxulo
know if that's Google Groups or your newsreader doing

that. ;-)

Post by Chris Burrows
It's not Google Groups as it also appears that way in

my nntp version of

Post by Chris Burrows
the newsgroup,

Follow up to poster will cause a properly written
newsreader to send an email to the poster instead of
sending a message to the group. Works fine for me.
Whether this is of use is another matter.

Back in the day, I used to enjoy writing Modula-2,
nowadays, not so much Modula-2 anymore. Today, some of
my colleagues question the need for the strict type
system of languages like Modula-2. More popular
languages of today tend to be weak typed, such that
adding an integer variable and a float variable without
explicit conversion is permitted, for example. Why not
allow this they ask? Ah, well.

[Chris Burrows]

Post by Rebus
Today, some of
my colleagues question the need for the strict type
system of languages like Modula-2. More popular
languages of today tend to be weak typed, such that
adding an integer variable and a float variable without
explicit conversion is permitted, for example. Why not
allow this they ask? Ah, well.

Immediately after Modula-2, Wirth did follow this sort approach in his
language Oberon:

"With the proliferation of basic types, a relaxation of compatibility rules
among them becomes almost mandatory. (Note that in Modula the numeric types
INTEGER, CARDINAL, and REAL are incompatible). To this end, the notion of
type inclusion is introduced: a type T includes a type T', if the values of
type T' are also values of type T. Oberon postulates the following
hierarchy:
LONGREAL > REAL > LONGINT > INTEGER > SHORTINT"

('From Modula to Oberon', N. Wirth, 1990)

However, in the recent revisions (2007 and 2011) of Oberon he has reverted
back to requiring explicit conversion functions (e.g. FLT and FLOOR) to do
the conversions.

Generally I prefer to be able to tell the compiler exactly what I want it to
do - not rely on it to second-guess what I might be trying to do. Also I
want to know *as soon as possible* when I have done something which is
potentially stupid. e.g. while I am compiling a program, not when a user on
the other side of the world is running the program!

Regards,
Chris Burrows

CFB Software
Astrobe: ARM Oberon Development System
http://www.astrobe.com

[Gaius Mulley]

Post by Rugxulo
Hi,

Post by Rick Sutcliffe
Archive-name: computer-lang/Modula2-faq/part1
Version: 3.0
Last-modified: 2009 06 01
Posting-frequency: Monthly
                    Modula-2 Frequently Asked Questions
The latest version is available athttp://www.arjay.bc.ca/Modula-2/m2faq.html

Far be it for me to correct you, but ...
1). The actual FAQ says "version 2.37 (2011 07 01)"
2). "The current release status of GNU Modula-2 is 0.92 and it
implements the PIM variant of Modula-2 and ISO. It provides a set of
PIM libraries and also installs the ULM PIM libraries. It is known to
build on BSD, GNU/Linux, MacOS X and Solaris in both 32 and 64 bit.
Its aim is to be both ISO and PIM Modula-2 compliant. (Also, see the
next question). The next milestone of the project is the 1.0 release
at which point the compiler will become part of the main GCC
distribution."
http://www.nongnu.org/gm2/release.html
"The latest stable release is gm2-1.0.4"
However, I'm pretty sure it's still based upon an (unofficial,
patched) GCC 4.1.2 though Gaius has done some work on newer GCC. The
main problem is probably?? that no versions older than GCC 4.4.x are
still supported by GNU. But I don't know which versions (presumably
newer) he's worked on.

yes gm2-1.0.4 is still based on a patched gcc-4.1.2. I'm currently
working
on grafting gm2-1.0.4 onto gcc-4.6.x. At present I'm fighting linking
errors when
building cc1gm2. I think previously I was intending to jump from
gcc-4.1.2 onto gcc-trunc
but the jump was too large and this is divide and conquer. The next
jump from gcc-4.6.x
onto gcc-trunc should be much smaller.

regards,
Gaius