Default Value

[rusi]

On Saturday, June 22, 2013 6:57:42 AM UTC+5:30, Ian wrote:
> While we're at it, I would like to petition for a function
> terminates(f, args) that I can use to determine whether a function
> will terminate before I actually call it.

I was going to say something about this -- viz that in prog. languages sometimes things that look laughably easy can turn out HARD.

As a personal example of a time I found myself in Rick's shoes:

I was lecturing to some audience on the glories of FP. Someone asked me how efficient such a language would be.  I replied (rather cock-surely) that efficiency is not a property of languages but of implementations.

So someone got up and asked me: Ok lets say I add a new value-space to your language -- propositions, and a new operator -- sat -- that checks whether a proposition is satisfiable...

So Rick... I agree with you... all these theoreticians should be burnt at the stake!

On a more serious note: many people make similar mistakes eg Haskellers who think Haskell is safe.
Safer (than something or other) -- Ok
Safe -- NO