[Info-vax] VMS Software Q1 '23 Update

[Dave Froble]

On 1/29/2023 9:54 AM, bill wrote:
> On 1/28/2023 10:39 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
>> On 1/28/2023 8:28 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
>>>> On 1/28/2023 6:19 PM, Johnny Billquist wrote:
>>>>> On 2023-01-28 23:35, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>>>>> On 1/28/2023 3:01 PM, Steven Schweda wrote:
>>>>>>>> Consider the case where the numbers represent money.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>     Who cares what the numbers represent?  For example, if you round to
>>>
>>> One of the absolute FIRST things that I was told about floating point
>>> variables in my first programming class was to NEVER use them to represent
>>> money.
>>> --scott
>>>
>>
>> What if you didn't have a choice?
>>
>> RSTS/E V04b
>>
>> Signed word integers
>> Strings
>> Single and double D-float
>>
>> That's all there was ...
>>
>
> No COBOL?  Sad as it sounds if RSTS BASIC was the only language
> on the machine (I am pretty sure it was not) then one would have
> to write routines, no matter how inefficient and time consuming,
> to do the job right.  But floating point for money is never the
> right answer.
>
> bill
>

I have to wonder why some people continue to argue with success?

No, the only language available on RSTS/E, at that time, was Basic+.  Much more 
was added later using the RSX stuff under RSTS/E.  But not in 1974.

-- 
David Froble                       Tel: 724-529-0450
Dave Froble Enterprises, Inc.      E-Mail: davef at tsoft-inc.com
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