Language change and code breaks

[piet at cs.uu.nl]

>>>>> Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> (GvR) writes:

GvR> piet at cs.uu.nl writes:
>> I wrote several parts of the CDC Cyber Algol 68 compiler (and later also an
>> Algol 60 compiler) and we just moved the address of the following
>> instruction to the stack (`manually') and then jumped to the procedure
>> address. And of course we used 12 bit characters and the language was
>> case-sensitive.

GvR> Our lives touched!  I used that Algol 68 compiler.  It also (very
GvR> indirectly) affected Python: that compiler had a very strong worldview
GvR> of its own that often didn't match that of other languages and tools
GvR> on the system, and that made it hard to mix tools.  I found this a
GvR> nuisance (ABC had the same nuisance even stronger), and when I
GvR> designed Python, one of my requirements was that it blend in with its
GvR> environment.  This explains why Python extensions are so useful.

One of the later versions had an interface with FORTRAN. But in general,
yes, the worldview of Algol68 was very different from the other languages
at that moment. 
-- 
Piet van Oostrum <piet at cs.uu.nl>
URL: http://www.cs.uu.nl/~piet [PGP]
Private email: P.van.Oostrum at hccnet.nl