XPL IN XY4

[chet.gottfried@xxxxxxxx]

XY-> Carl Distefano:

XY-> 1. "The u.doc ... mentions U1 to U4. How did you find out about U5 to
 -> U9?" Somewhere on the TTG BBS there was a message from Sysop (it may

Thank you for the information, Carl!

XY-> 2. "Any talk from TTG of commissioning a piece from you on XPL in
 -> 4?" Heavens no! From time to time I've considered including an XPL
 -> primer in SmartSet -- minimal text, mainly a set of more or less self-
 -> explanatory code examples that can be studied and executed right off
 -> the screen via RUNCODE. But ..... Ars longa, vita brevis!

I can find two reasons to diagree with the "Heavens no!" First,
if you're serious about implementing a standard strategy for use
of save-gets #s, the best way to do so is to instill the idea
through an article or chapter.

For example, the very first XyWrite XPL I ever studied used
hyphens after each GL and LB. I thought it was very intelligent
and very readable, and I made it a practice in my own XPL ever
since. The same may work for a consistent numbering system shown
in use.

(I used to use a private system of two-digit save-gets for local
variables and three-digit ones for interprogram variables, but
after I realized that two-digits were just as easily passed in
memory, I tossed it aside . . . but I still kind of like it in
theory.)

Second, it helps a person's own writing when forced to examine
it. Not that you need it, but you might might a systemization
factor that you previously overlooked.

About self-explanatory codes samples: I once wrote, for a
company, a series of XPLs for self-teaching XyWrite. Let me tell
you, text is a lot easier than the unexpected problems of sample
code!

--Chet
---
 ? SLMR 2.1a ? Art + write + dtp = chet.gottfried@xxxxxxxx