[PDP8-Lovers] if you hadn't already known this about the PDP-8

From: Sean 'Captain Napalm' Conner <spc_at_conman.org>
Date: Thu Dec 13 20:47:31 2001

It was thus said that the Great Mark Crispin once stated:
>
> Contemporary programming languages, such as BASIC and FORTRAN, did not use
> stack subroutines. It's possible that modern BASIC and FORTRAN compilers may
> permit recursive subroutine calls, but doing so is still prohibited by the
> language specification. Now you know why.
>
> Stacks are very useful, but they are not the solution to everything. One of
> the biggest deficiencies of C is its lack of co-routines, since it only has
> the stack style of subroutine calling. Yeah, I know about setjmp/longjmp, but
>
> those are one-way, not true co-routines.
>
> Of course, talking about co-routines to youngsters is likely to get their eyes
> to glaze over, since they won't have a clue as to what I'm talking about.

  So what, exactly is a co-routine? I've heard the term before, but I'm not
entirely sure what they are, or how they would work.

  -spc (I may have used them in assembly, but not knew the proper term ... )
Received on Thu Dec 13 2001 - 20:47:31 GMT