RE: Wish list
- Posted by rforno at tutopia.com Jul 29, 2002
- 389 views
Outlook Express in some way transformed my //s notation into file://s. ----- Original Message ----- From: <rforno at tutopia.com> Subject: Wish list > > EUPHORIA WISH LIST from R. M. Forno > > Perhaps not for version 2.4, but for 3.0 or 4.5... > > 1) Comments C type: /* ... */ to ease commenting out code blocks. > > 2) Enhancements to the trace facility: > A) Variables should not be shown automatically but only at an user > request. When exiting a routine, its private variables should > momentarily disappear, and reappear if entering the routine again. > B) Allow showing expressions, at least of the form x[i][k], > z[2..n], etc. Better if all valid expressions were allowed, including > function calls. > c) On a more advanced mood, allow entering the editor while in trace > mode, defining and executing new routines, modifying old ones, > modifying and creating variables, etc. > > 3) Allow executing string variables, that can contain code like "x = y * p". > > 4) Allow defining functions from a string, for example: > "function foo(integer u) return power(u, u) end function" > > 5) A function that returns the amount of available real storage at the > moment. > It will ease the task of determining the size of buffers to avoid > using virtual storage. > > 6) A facility to save the status and variables of a program in the middle of > execution, also available from the trace screen. This will ease > debugging; you could advance execution to a certain point, save, > continue, and in case of failure, restart at the saved point. > > 7) Add the following *internal* data types: byte, word (2 bytes), and > perhaps > (why not?) bit and nibble (half byte), all in order to save storage. > Programs should switch from one to other according to needs. > For example, assume a sequence s s = {}. Then, s &= 1. This can > be a byte (or bit) type. If then s &= 65, it remains byte. If then > s &= 3456, it should switch to word (the entire sequence). If then > s[1] = 12345678, it should switch to the current Euphoria integer type. > If then s[2] = 89.876, maybe the current scheme could be maintained > (AFAIK, only this element becomes floating point, and the rest remain > integer), or else the entire sequence switches to floating. > Of course, some other mechanisms could be preferred if they are > more efficient or easier to code. Now, this scheme exists to some > point, reduced to integer versus floating point. Perhaps my proposal > is exceedingly complex. Rob surely has something to say about it. > > 8) Rob, you know I like APL. There is a feature of APL that I think would be > good to implement. +/s would compute the sum of the elements of s, > in some way to be defined if s is not a simple sequence. > The same for */s, file://s, /%s (where % is a new notation for > "remainder"), > etc. > > 10) Add officially to Euphoria the Win32lib, or any replacement for it. This > will surely increase the market share for Euphoria. > > 9) Excuse me, Kat, but I don't think goto would be useful. I recently tried > to translate to Euphoria an algorithm I wrote in BASIC years ago, > and this was a nightmare, not for the lack of goto (since you > can simulate it with a status variable), but only to understand how > the algorithm worked. Of course, I am guilty of not having commented > it well, but anyway... > > Thanks for your patience, Rob. I appreciate and support your efforts to keep > Euphoria simple and efficient. I don't think my proposals would in > any way be contrary to this goal. > > > >