🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1991May28.204434.16396@netcom.COM> doug@netcom.COM (Doug Merritt) writes:
> I don't see why all that stuff is even being discussed; like I pointed out
> the other day, even determining halting for self-contained C programs (no
> malloc, no clock dependency, etc) is impossible,

There does not exist a single self-contained C program which will, all
by itself, determine the halting status of *every* self-contained C
program.

However, for any given *size* (including program size and memory use) of
self-contained C program, there exists a self-contained C program which
will determine the halting status of every self-contained C program
under that size. Therefore ``determining halting for self-contained C
programs'' is quite possible.

In fact, it's rather easy to construct the program with approximately
twice the given size, plus a fixed amount of housekeeping. So
``determining halting for self-contained C programs'' is not only
possible, it's practical.

In fact, it's rather easy.

Now, Doug, would you like to explain on what basis in fact or fiction
you decided to call this ``impossible''?

---Dan