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ANS in my pants... miscellaneous ramblings


WRT 'portability':  I feel compelled to point out that (despite
over-blown advertising) I have yet to see a perfect port, in any
language.  In my experience, the most portable code relies on a
complete description of the algorithm, and that description depends
upon a narrative preface (as opposed to a line-by-line description)
that *actually*explains* what is happening...  even the LINUX / GNU
GPL is guilty of this "I'm not going to tell you how it actually
works" crap.

My best and proudest code winds up being (by ASCII-char count) more
than 50% commentary, and half of that is before anything compiles...
Have I been giving away trade secrets? -- well, GLADLY!!!

Who cares what language it's supposed to be written in?  COBOL?
REXX?  OK!  Just say what you mean, and mean what you say...


ANSI-FORTH scared the pants off me -- I felt immediately
ham-strung -- no room for creativity (or even flexibility).


cheers + F'EATH  - vic