Re: BBC and DEFINT etc [Was: Using GOTO]

On Sep 8, 2:58 pm, ppnerkDELETET...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 (Phred) wrote:
> > BBC BASIC doesn't use declarations like DEFINT and DEFDBL
> Ouch!  Why don't you use them, Richard?

Why don't *I* use them??

I wish I could get people to understand that BBC BASIC is a language
specified by the BBC, in collaboration with Acorn Computers, in around
1980-1981.  Although I have extended the language (as far as possible
maintaining compatibility with the original) I can no more change its
syntax than somebody writing a C compiler can choose to alter the
syntax of C!

So to rephrase the question as "why doesn't BBC BASIC use DEFINT" I
would turn it round and ask "did any common BASIC use DEFINT in
1981?".  If the answer's yes I can't say for sure why the BBC didn't
specify it.  I know it was keen to maintain a reasonable degree of
compatibility with other 8-bit BASICs, such as were common on the
microcomputers of the day.  On the other hand the BBC insisted on
improvements like multi-character variable names, named functions and
procedures with parameters and local variables and so on, none of
which were common in other 8-bit BASICs.

If DEFINT wasn't common in other BASICs, then no further explanation
is needed.

It amuses me when people ask why BBC BASIC isn't more compatible with
QBasic, and I have to politely point out that BBC BASIC predates it by
several years!  It's temping to ask why QBasic isn't more compatible
with BBC BASIC....

> I appreciate that your %, #, etc make things pretty explicit too

I'm very happy to accept some responsibility for the specification of
BBC BASIC, and indeed some features in later Acorn versions were
specifically requested by me, but they're not *my* %, # etc.!!!

Richard.
http://www.rtrussell.co.uk/
To reply by email change 'news' to my forename.