[Info-vax] Long uptime cut short by Hurricane Sandy

[VAXman- at SendSpamHere.ORG]

In article <an0jjrFduj7U1 at mid.individual.net>, billg999 at cs.uofs.edu (Bill Gunshannon) writes:
>In article <00ACE364.926A71CC at sendspamhere.org>,
>	VAXman-  @SendSpamHere.ORG writes:
>> In article <keerfn$i53$1 at dont-email.me>, David Froble <davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes:
>>>VAXman- @SendSpamHere.ORG wrote:
>>>
>>>> In DCL, one can delete a character from a string with - (subtract) and one
>>>> can add strings with a "+" (just like in Hoff's bash example!).  I can, for
>>>> example, remove the "$" in this string: "This is a $ sign." with -"$".  In
>>>> DCL, the subtract character will delete the very first occurrance of said 
>>>> character that's specified when encountered in the string.  If no character
>>>> is found, nothing is done.  HB pointed out that using the ()s would define
>>>> the scope better but I assumed no "funny" characters would be in the file
>>>> prefix.  The multiple -"-" -"-" remove the dashes in the time and the -":"
>>>> -":" remove the colons in the time.  Surely, you could see that if you'd
>>>> have tried to understand it instead of choosing to denigrate DCL.
>>>
>>>Yep, that's where I've used it.  When you got procedures that run often 
>>>and you need files with a date and time stamp in the filename it's very 
>>>useful.  But if you don't use it often, it does (at least for me) stop 
>>>you when you're skimming through DCL code.  Even if you're aware of what 
>>>it does, I still have to stop and think about it.
>>>
>>>> A lack of understanding of the semantics doesn't make it cryptic.
>>>
>>>Actually, for me it does, but, if it was preceded by something such as:
>>>
>>>$! Build a filename with date stamp without the dashes and colens
>> 
>> Certainly... and an unnecessary I/O too!
>> 
>> 
>>>Then the DCL code would be much easier to follow ....
>>>
>>>My DCL code has lots of comments, but to be fair (I hate doing that) the 
>>>bash code would  benefit from comments also.
>> 
>> I've seen more comments in DCL procedures than I've seen in bash scripts!
>
>Is that the scripting tools fault?

No and I didn't say that.  I was commenting on my personal observations
WRT David's comment.



>I've seen more comments in COBOL than in Ada.  Does that make COBOL a
>better language for writing an F16 Flight Control System?

Does that make Ada a better language for writing a financial application?
 
-- 
VAXman- A Bored Certified VMS Kernel Mode Hacker    VAXman(at)TMESIS(dot)ORG

Well I speak to machines with the voice of humanity.