User talk:Gerard Schildberger: Difference between revisions

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Hi, I think you left a comment ''the above will erroneously return:...'' on a PLI example. Could you change this to use the template incorrect so that PLI users are flagged that the example needs attention. Thanks. --[[User:Paddy3118|Paddy3118]] 18:22, 28 October 2010 (UTC)
 
I confess I didn't know the proper methodology to be used (this was my very first time on Rosetta Code). The fallout from that excursion was not what I expect at all, not exactly a pleasent experience. It would've been nice to actually include the righteous text so I could hit the ground running and re-enter the correct incorrect template. I had thought that putting a comment near the code would get someone's attention and fix the problem. My bad. I was trying to figure out how to contact the author of the code, but I didn't have the skills at that time. I have previously removed the offending comment, leaving the original problem intact, and as far as I know, the errors are still there. To make it worse, I've already forgotten which entry it was, and looking back at it all, I regret trying to address the issue (error). There are so many such errors that I came across a few weeks ago, and I'm glad I didn't mung up more erroneous pages. I'm wondering at this point if erroneous pages are less erroneous with erroneous flagged corrections,   or flags that are erroneous? I wish the process would be more forgiving and above all, much easier to implement without the headaches. If I ever get the time, I may revisit some pages, but I rarely look at other people's code anymore, except for clarification of the specifications of the task to be solved. What is the protocol about these talk pages? Do they hang around forever, or am I supposed to delete (edit) them later when they lose their relevance? [[User:Gerard Schildberger|Gerard Schildberger]]
 
 
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::We must distinguish between languages and implementations. ooRexx, if you will, implements a subset of Classic Rexx and I am happy with that. Programs written obeying this subset have their place under REXX. Programs that use oo and other extensions (i+=8) should and must go to ooRexx (or be corrected). Again: thanks for telling me about my oversight. --[[User:Walterpachl|Walterpachl]] ([[User talk:Walterpachl|talk]]) 05:44, 26 July 2014 (UTC)
 
::: I'm almost in complete agreement with your first two statements (quite possibly 100%). Classic REXX interpreters that implement the same set of language syntax (rules), with minor differences, contribute to the making of computer programming language dialects.   ooRexx has different BIFs, statements, syntax, etc., and in many people's opinion (and mine), those differences makes it a different language.   I think I know what you meant about writing (ooRexx?) REXX programs that obey ''that subset'', but the programs that I code are for Classic REXX and don't limit writing to a subset --- but I try to limit almost all my Rosetta Code REXX programs to what most Classic REXX programmers use (or know).   Of course there are exceptions, and they are noted when I code a REXX program for a particular Class REXX interpreter that has specific (additional) BIFs to accomplish a particular Rosetta Code task.   For Classic REXX programmers using/running (Microsoft) Windows on PeeCeesPCs, that usually means Regina REXX   (probably the most used, most common [free] REXX interpreter).   [I presume you meant writing/using ooRexx statements that obey ''that subset''.]   Saying that, I'm in complete agreement with your third statement.   The minor disagreement with the 2nd statement is that there are subtle differences in the way Classic REXX and ooRexx treats, ... well, objects versus variables (or rather, their values), if you will, especially stems (possibly tail stems) and/or stemmed arrays --- (and I'm not an expert in ooRexx), but I'm recalling an acute discussion in a REXX newsgroup about this very issue where Classic REXX treats the assignment of a stemmed array (such as   '''a. = b.''') differently than ooRexx (as I recall).   This was sometime ago and I don't recall the details.   ooRexx being what it is (object orientated), it's that way by design (and/or by definition).   The good news is that situation is an uncommon occurrence I should think (programming wise), and is therefore more of an academic discussion/exercise.   Having said that, somebody may point out the error of my assumptions. -- [[User:Gerard Schildberger|Gerard Schildberger]] ([[User talk:Gerard Schildberger|talk]]) 07:12, 26 July 2014 (UTC)
 
== Please summarize your edits ==
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Most of my updates (followups) are so minor that it would be distracting for casual readers what I've done, and I try to keep forcing my self to add comments to most of my REXX examples, something which seems might be a waste of time as I see very little evidence elsewhere of copious (or even brief) comments on (at) the statement level. I spend quite a bit of time dumbing-down my code to make it understandable for the novice (REXX) programmer. In doing so, I try to add (statement) comments on what the statements are doing/accomplishing, but the more advanced one gets, the more shortcuts one takes, and the code becomes obtuse with very little effort, sad to say.
 
REXX leads itself to writing a lot of "one-liner" subroutines (or, at the least, pretty short subroutines/procedures). This hides the commons tasks that happen over and over again, the duldrumsdoldrums of programming. The <strike> one-lines </strike> '''one-liners''' tend to end up at the bottom (end) of the program, usually after some kind of comment fence. Out of sight, out of mind. Most often, the one-lines are very general in nature and have been thourghlythoroughly tested/debugged, and once written, almost never looked at again --- until Rosetta Code. Most REXX programmers write code on serveralseveral classes of computers, PC's just being one. There is a lot of boilerplate to keep track of, environmental impacts, restrictions on command options, command names, command formats, terminal (console) support (linesize, screen width), fonts, file structure(s), file naming protocols, security concerns (read/write), operating system quirks (that's the polite word for it), etc, etc, etc. You wouldn'bet believe the proglogueprologue code that I have written (collected) over the ... ahem, decades of programming in REXX --
cough, cough, since around 1982 or so. And I'm a regular packratpack-rat. PL/I was way back in 1866 , er, make that 1966. Anywhooose, I'll try to make more summaries, even if almost all of them are quite bland and/or uninteresting. [[User:Gerard Schildberger|Gerard Schildberger]]
 
 
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:Hi Gerard, Adding the summary takes little time, and really helps others. Thanks. --[[User:Paddy3118|Paddy3118]] 06:27, 30 October 2010 (UTC)
 
I'm not sure where these summaries end up, as I never had seen any. Is it under the "history" section? I must confess, when I look at some code, I don't care to read about how and/or when changes where made, all I care about is the final product (so to speak) and I'm not particuralyparticularly interestredinterested in the code's change pedigree. But that's me, and I realize that others might find that sort of detail interesting in some way. [[User:Gerard Schildberger|Gerard Schildberger]]
:The summaries do end up on the page history, but they also end up on [[Special:RecentChanges]] and in that page's RSS feed (http://rosettacode.org/mw/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom). People like to keep an eye on the recent changes feed. Adding a summary there helps us decide if we need to check on an edit. Also you don't need to add a signature (<nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>) in the summary. It doesn't get evaluated there (as you can probably see in the recent changes feed) and every place that the edit summary shows up already has your username and a timestamp attached to the edit. --[[User:Mwn3d|Mwn3d]] 13:35, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
 
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I was beginning to wonder what
<br><br>[] &nbsp; Watch this page
<br><br>''did'' &nbsp; &nbsp; as I never got any notification(s) of any page watched. I've since learned that I had never entered an E-mail address (I had assummedassumed that "it" would notify me when I logged on Rosetta Code). I never did like entering my E-mail address on a public forum, but ... I guess it is necessary for a diaglog in this forum. As a result, I'm desperately trying to play catchupcatch-up and it's a bit overwhelming. [[User:Gerard Schildberger|Gerard Schildberger]]
 
 
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... if you're a student of newsgroups, then you know of what I speak. Not all discourse
is benificialbeneficial.
 
 
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The task also assumes that there is only one answer, while in fact,
the general case may have no or many answers. The task stated to
find THE answer, and didn't say anything about the posibilitypossibility of showing
other answers (if there were any). ... And so it goes. It didn't mention
if "the" would match up to "Einstein" for example (caseless compariosnscomparisons),
or what to do about punctuation (the obvious thing to do would be to ignore
'em). Yes, yes, I know, there weren't any of those pesky critters...
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I wish a lot of the tasks wouldn't be so ego-centriccentrist. That is a problem
that should be address, in my humble opinion. Well, maybe next
Christmas then ...