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PI (was Re: parse Perl in Perl?)

From:
Chip Salzenberg
Date:
July 24, 2000 16:28
Subject:
PI (was Re: parse Perl in Perl?)
Message ID:
20000724162804.J6255@perlsupport.com
According to Nick Ing-Simmons:
> Chip's pre-C++ mechanism was to use "PI" (Perl Implementation
> language) Chip then went on to say this is because he "hates
> embed.pl".

Actually, Nick, I think you misunderstood.  PI still exists and is
still a possible part of the Perl 6 puzzle, but it doesn't solve the
embedding problem.  It just solves the *inheritance* problem.

PI allows simple creation and implementation of C++-ish classes and
virtual functions without all the linguistic hair of full-blown C++.
And, perhaps more important for me personally, PI doesn't require
textual duplication of the same information in many header files.

My hatred of 'embed.pl' and such was, in fact, one of the reasons I
ran *away* from C-based solutions and into the arms of C++, which
provided namespaces and automatic destruction of auto variables.  (But
I'm not all that attached to C++ now that we're willing to use GC and
thus simplify the task of the internals coders.)

I consider something like 'embed.pl' to be a necessary price to pay
for using a language as low-level as C for tasks like embedding.
-- 
Chip Salzenberg              - a.k.a. -              <chip@valinux.com>
"I wanted to play hopscotch with the impenetrable mystery of existence,
    but he stepped in a wormhole and had to go in early."  // MST3K



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