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From: rfb@lehman.com (Rick Busdiecker)
Subject: Re: Reference Counting (was Searching Method for Incremental Garbage Collection)
In-Reply-To: kevinw@whistler.com's message of 26 Nov 1994 16:57:07 GMT
To: kevinw@whistler.com (Kevin Warne)
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References: <3b5rjj$kg8@scipio.cyberstore.ca> <CzuxH4.7s2@world.std.com>
	<3b7pd3$954@scipio.cyberstore.ca>
Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 02:20:52 GMT
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.c:118086 comp.lang.c++:100572 comp.lang.lisp:15832

In article <3b7pd3$954@scipio.cyberstore.ca> kevinw@whistler.com (Kevin Warne) writes:

   I think that future programming languages will have constructs for
   compile-time behavior as well as run-time behaviour.  The compile
   time behavior will be a superset of what is handled now with
   makefiles, macros, preprocessors, etc.  Through code that executes
   at compile-time, developers will be able to specify exactly how
   their classes and objects can be used.  Given such objects and
   metaobjects, I think such behaviour is possible...  Right now,
   probably not...

What you are describing is not `future programming languages'.  Such
languages exist.  One, called Common Lisp, was actually getting a fair
amount of use a decade ago.  Unfortunately, most people gave up on it
right about the time that significant improvements in compiler and
garbage collection technology were becoming standard for conventional
architecture Common Lisp implementations.

Code is data.  Data is code.  Lisp leverages this fact while glorified
assembly languages hide it.  You should not need seperate languages
(such as preprocessor-speak) to define new code transformations.

--
Rick Busdiecker <rfb@lehman.com>      Please do not send electronic junk mail!
  Lehman Brothers Inc.
  3 World Financial Center  "The more laws and order are made prominent, the
  New York, NY  10285-1100   more thieves and robbers there will be." --Lao Tzu
