🚀 go-pugleaf

Now, now. COBOL uses *all* global variables, and it has never been
accused of being an ivory tower idea from CS, which you seemed to be
implying. In Pascal, the use of global variables is not a side-effect
but rather a central-effect. It is in no way an afterthought or a
hidden or unanticipated effect. Whether it is good practice or not,
that is a question I have given up on answering many years ago.  You
have a lot of company in considering global variable harmful, though.

Leo

On 26 Mar 1996 06:01:11 GMT, jmartin@cs.ucla.edu (Jay Martin) wrote:

>jhd@herold.franken.de (Joachim Durchholz) writes:
>
>>tej@world.std.com wrote 22.03.96 on Re: Portability of code & skills (Beware of "C" Hackers etc):
>
>>> I don't remember enough Pascal to know what you mean.  I know you could
>>> define a function inside a function, making Pascal block-structured.
>>> C can't do that, but of course you can pass functions as arguments of
>>> functions.
>
>>The power of this mechanism is that the local function can access local  
>>variables of its surrounding function. E.g. in a list processing  
>>environment you could write
>
>>  function CountThem (l: List): integer;
>>  var Count: integer
>>    procedure CountOne (e: ListElement);
>>    begin
>>      if <some condition on e fulfilled> then begin
>>        Count := Count + 1;
>>      end;
>>    end;
>>  begin
>>    ApplyOnList (l, CountOne); (* !!!! *)
>>    CountThem := Count
>>  end;
>
>
>This is what I call side-effects on a global variable (or variable of
>a larger scope).  Its not what I call good programming practice.  In
>fact, I see nested procedures as implemented in algol block languages
>(automatic importation of variables from larger scopes) as another
>stupid idea of CS.  
>
>Jay
>
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