Talk:Pascal (programming language)/Archive 2

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Archive 1

Archive 2

COBOL as an influence?

Looks like this was added back in 2007 (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pascal_(programming_language)&diff=prev&oldid=167771005) and gone unquestioned since, but it seems to me very unlikely to be the case. Snori (talk) 17:34, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

From my memory, COBOL was only an influence in the sense of "make sure it is nothing like COBOL". Yes, my memory isn't a source, but the influence has no source. I removed it. --A D Monroe III (talk) 21:20, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Criticism section

This is way too long, with recent attempts to 'correct' it making things even worse. Is it even necessary? All programming languages have their fans and those that dislike them, their good and bad features, but they don’t have anything like this amount of criticism that I’ve seen. It should either be pared down dramatically or removed altogether.--JohnBlackburne^words_deeds 00:28, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

There was an entire page for C, but it was AfD'd into a merge, and all content lost. All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 17:35, 4 June 2017 (UTC).

Extended Pascal

I noticed that the Extended Pascal section is just a reference to the equivalent ANSI standard with no discussion on its features, etc.

I'd like to come back on a rainy Saturday and greatly expand the section. Any objections?

I was the X3J9 secretary during Extended Pascal development and I've been a Pascal compiler developer since 1983.

John — Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnreagan (talk • contribs) 12:53, 31 August 2016 (UTC)

No objections! All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 17:36, 4 June 2017 (UTC).

Notability of implementations

The Compilers and interpreters section contains a long list of implementations, mostly not covered in Wikipedia, and mostly with no indication of notability. Google Search finds fewer than 200 mentions of several of them (page through the results to get to the end). Wikipedia is not a directory of software (or anything else). Wikipedia doesn't publish lists. For most of these, there is no third-party source showing that they are notable, but only a link to the software's home page. Under WP policy, all these listings should be removed. --Macrakis (talk) 20:58, 30 October 2016 (UTC)

Not so. While we generally only have articles about things that meet WP:GNG, we certainly mention lots of things that don't. They need to be significant to the article, which is a much lower bar. All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 17:38, 4 June 2017 (UTC).

Macintosh Pascal compilers

I believe that the history of Pascal compilers is deficient in that it doesn't mention the Macintosh Pascals, some quite early.

Upon its release in the Spring of 1984, there was a beta version of Lightspeed Pascal for the Macintosh. (I saw and used this beta in probably April, 1984.) A completed, non-beta, version was soon available. This ran as an interpretter with a very capable IDE including GUI debugger assembly viewer. A terminal-like text window was provided as was a drawing window. Full access to the Macintosh Toolbox was available. This ran on a 128KB Mac with a single 400KB floppy disk drive.

By probably 1985 or 1986, this product was converted to a compiler, keeping and improving the IDE with expected speed increase. Floating point was emulated 96-bit IEEE type. At some point the product was renamed THINK Pascal and got object-oriented extensions, probably compatible with the Wirth-Apple model, mentioned in the main article.

Apple provided a Mac Pascal compiler with Macintosh Programmer's Workshop, MPW. It differed somewhat from the THINK and Codewarrior (see below) compiler. Of course, Macintosh was completely programmed in Pascal and assembler prior to System 7. (Some of us remember that transition, to System 7, as the beginning of an era of system crashes.)

In approximately 1998 or thereabouts a compiler called CodeWarrior became available on the Macintosh, along with a C compiler. It too had a full-function IDE and many found it to be a suitable replacement for THINK Pascal although it took more "know-how" to make work--the Lightspeed and THINK products were ridiculously easy to use.

174.17.221.250 (talk) 07:51, 4 September 2017 (UTC)

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"Pascal (programming langauge)" listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Pascal (programming langauge). Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Steel1943 (talk) 18:29, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

"Bogged Down"

In the introduction, the article says that the ALGOL X process "Bogged down". I don't understand what this means. From my understanding, it could mean the process slowed down on its own, but also could mean that the process was slowed down by the introduction of ALGOL W. I think the article would benefit if someone ~~corrected~~ clarified this. Bepvte (talk) 00:10, 30 November 2019 (UTC); edited 00:53, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

I don't understand what happened either. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:13, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

It's an informal and unreferenced phrase tht we're trying to interpret here, so maybe no really clear outcome is achievable. (And the phrase should probably be replaced, either way - with owt clearer if we can clarify usefully, and with owt less obscure, less vague, if not.)

The Algol X article tells a lot, via its links and references - mainly the November 2016 paper, ALGOL X and ALGOL Y, listed as an external link; the article's references 5 and 6 may be worth a look too. In summary, it seems tht the IFIP Working Group drew together all the right people, but they delegated to a small subcommittee which split and the work stalled: Wirth stepped away, continuing independently.

I remember reading much nearer the time tht Niklaus Wirth had shared his ideas, on an Algol-60 successor, with a colleague on (? ) the IFIP Group's subcommittee; and had been astonished (? putting it politely) when that colleague put forward proposals in a very different spirit at the subcommittee's next meeting.

A lovely story I also read was tht from time to time people would ask Wirth how to pronounce his name; and he would reply using Algol-60 terms: tht "in Europe they tend to call me by name [the correct form, tht one might spell in English as veert]; but in America people call me by value [worth]."

– SquisherDa (talk) 02:11, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

Yes, I love that quote. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 02:19, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

Can U source it?? It really ought to go in the article on him if we can!! – SquisherDa (talk) 02:24, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

Merger Proposal (VSI Pascal)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

Merged

I propose merging VSI Pascal into this article. I think the information from that article can be condensed and added to Pascal (programming language)#Other variants without making this article too long. Vt320 (talk) 20:04, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Seems OK to merge to me. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 03:01, 8 February 2022 (UTC)
- I'm unsure. Several variations have their own article. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:06, 8 February 2022 (UTC)
  - I feel in this case that the VSI Pascal dialect does not have enough notable distinctions to warrant a standalone article, unlike some of the other dialects which have their own articles. Vt320 (talk) 22:03, 27 March 2022 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Enumerations missing in the article

Nothing about enumerate types. The table:

Data type	Type of values which the variable is capable of storing
integer	integer (whole) numbers
real	floating-point numbers
boolean	the values True or False
char	a single character from an ordered character set
set	equivalent to an array of boolean values
array	a countable group of any of the preceding data types or records
record	A collection of any of the preceding data types
string	a sequence or "string" of characters is declared as a "packed array of char" with a starting index of 1. These can be assigned string constants and individual characters can be accessed as elements of the array.

must have an enumeration row, maybe:

Data type	Type of values which the variable is capable of storing
integer	integer (whole) numbers
real	floating-point numbers
boolean	the values True or False
char	a single character from an ordered character set
set	equivalent to an array of boolean values
enums	type including different lables
array	a countable group of any of the preceding data types or records
record	A collection of any of the preceding data types
string	a sequence or "string" of characters is declared as a "packed array of char" with a starting index of 1. These can be assigned string constants and individual characters can be accessed as elements of the array.

and the corresponding section containing the syntax and an example. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2806:106E:B:400F:F9:F69F:2ED7:3753 (talk) 06:12, 4 September 2022 (UTC)