Re: Why use Basic at all? (was Re: BASIC with built-in matrix functions?)

On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 03:26:03 -0400, "Tom Lake" <tlake@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:

>
><ArarghMail708NOSPAM@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
>news:mfm1d3dciq3mhspaa56qumv3vmrnipj04s@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> On Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:35:57 -0400, "Tom Lake" <tlake@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>><news@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>>news:1188077666.285056.183500@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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>> Yes.  Some which would be useful in any version of basic:
>> MAT ZER clear an entire array
>> MAT LET copy an entire array
>> MAT READ read an entire array
>> MAT WRITE write an entire array
>
>Try telling that to Nicholson!  For some reason, he won't add
>MAT READ or MAT PRINT to his BASICs.
>
>I know thay can be easily duplicated by nested loops but since
>the syntax is already standardized, why not add them?
>
>>
>> All of these, and probably all the rest will eventually be added to
>> BCET.  Some are already there.
>
>Bless you!

I wonder if anyone is actually using BCET.  Since I have received
little feedback, I can only assume that a) nobody uses it, or b) it
works perfectly.  And I KNOW that b) is false.  :-)  Which leaves . . 

As far as MAT ZER goes, in MS 16-bit Basics, REDIMing any array clears
it, and if you use different subscripts, changes its size.  Exact same
functionality as what the standard says, AFAICT, just different
syntax.  I will most likely just use the same runtime routine to
implement it.  Although, REDIMing a dynamic array also sometime moves
its location in memory.

MAT LET gets interesting.  What do you do if:
	dim a!(9), b#(9)
	mat a!=b#
That's going to have to cause an error, because changing the element
size is pretty much of a no no.

Also, if the destination array is static, then the source array must
be the exact same size (although smaller might work)

Have to dig thru the (pretty much unreadable) Standard to figure out
just how to proceed.

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