zz: Prototypes?

[Ted Nelson <ted@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I have to admit, I don't know what Prototypes are.

Can it be told quickly ?-)

ChrzT


At 11:26 AM 11/15/98 -0500, you wrote:
>
>> The current ZigZag code is messy to -look- at.  
>
>I don't really have time to discuss this in detail just now, but:
>
>> Some but not all of the functions use prototypes. 
>
>I honestly do not understand what the prototypes are there for anyway.
>
>I imagine that someone put them there because they thought that they
>were going to get better argument type checking, because that is why
>other languages have prototypes.  But that is not what Perl prototypes
>are there fore.  Perl prototypes do not provide better argmuent type
>checking.  Instead, they are there so that you can emulate the
>behavior of the Perl internal functions.
>
>Also, most function calls use the `&f' form, and that form disables
>the prototype checking anyway.
>
>>  Ditto trailing brackets for functions with no arguments.
>
>
>>> PS
>>    prototypes suck
>
>Prototypes suck.  
>
>
>
____________________________________________________
Theodor Holm Nelson, Visiting Professor of Environmental Information
 Keio University, Shonan Fujisawa Campus, Fujisawa, Japan
 Home Fax from USA: 011-81-466-46-7368  (If in Japan, 0466-46-7368)
Professorial home page http://www.sfc.keio.ac.jp/~ted/ 
_____________________________________________________
Permanent: Project Xanadu, 3020 Bridgeway #295, Sausalito CA 94965
 Tel. 415/ 331-4422, fax 415/332-0136  
http://www.xanadu.net
PERMANENT E-MAIL: ted@xxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________
Quotation of the day, 98.11.12:
"Everything is just like everything else.  And sometimes even more so."
TN98