Question about checks for min and max values

[Henry Melancon]

No, it appears to still be kicking!!!!

> -----Original Message-----
> From: filepro-list-bounces+hemelancon=gifinc.com at lists.celestial.com
> [mailto:filepro-list-bounces+hemelancon=gifinc.com at lists.celestial.com] On
> Behalf Of Dick Burke
> Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 10:43 PM
> To: filePro
> Subject: Re: Question about checks for min and max values
> 
> Isn't the horse dead yet ???
> 
> On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 18:15:34 -0400, Jay R. Ashworth wrote:
> 
> >On Tue, Jul 26, 2005 at 03:38:17PM -0400, Nancy Palmquist wrote:
> >> Just because filePro is written in C does not require the syntax of
> >> filePro to be "C like".  The user interface for filePro which
> determined
> >> the syntax and implementation of the language was determined by the
> >> filePro development team.
> 
> >Please, Nancy.  Enough with the red herrings.
> 
> >I'm not *asserting* that it's *syntax* has to be the same.
> 
> >I'm discussing *semantics*: what "equals" *means*.
> 
> >> As I recall the first release of the IF:/THEN: version of filePro, it
> >> only allowed "eq, gt, ge, lt, le" relational operands on the IF line of
> >> a statement.  The "=" sign was reserved for the assignment function on
> a
> >> THEN: line.
> >>
> >> This thread has wandered far from the first postings that were
> >> discussing the difference between "Equivalence" and "Equals" and the
> use
> >> of the "eq" and "=" symbols.
> 
> >Yes, and it's confusing, since it has nothing to do with "what equals
> >means".
> 
> >> The fact that == or any other function available in C was around or not
> >> at the time is not relevant.  FilePro determined how it would act and
> >> use these symbols.  This was defined by the filePro application and
> >> presented to the end user as such.  When I typed "5 eq ab" on an IF
> >> line, filePro parsed that and made the determined interpretation of
> that
> >> statement resulting in a TRUE or FALSE.  The rules for this were
> clearly
> >> defined by filePro.
> 
> >Yes.
> 
> >Alas, they defined "equals" to mean something other than what every
> >other programming language (as well as common mathematics) defines it
> >to mean, which is the sole point that Mark and I are debating.
> 
> >> I think this has turned in to a comparison of languages and none of
> this
> >> is important to how these functions are defined to behave IN FILEPRO.
> 
> >Yes, actually, it is.
> 
> >If you're going to design a programming language, it is incumbent on
> >you *not* to take semantic tokens already in use in other languages,
> >and *define them to mean something different*.  You do so, as the
> >current owners of filePro likely realize, at your own peril.
> 
> >> In the last 25 years, computer languages have developed and added much
> >> nuance to logic and functions to enhance what can be done.  All to make
> >> things clearer and easier to program.  The early version of filePro had
> >> 10 commands, but the logic to determine the relationship between
> >> expressions has not change one bit.
> 
> >Yep, it's been counterintuitive to programmers from other milieux since
> >day one.
> 
> >> The rules were taken from mathematics and they remain consistent and
> >> correct.
> 
> >Nope.  But I'm not going to repeat myself.  How filepro's 'eq'
> >differs from the algebraic and string equals operator in other
> >languages is something I've explained about 5 times on this thread so
> >far.
> 
> >>            Just because other languages have added meaning or used the
> >> symbols differently for relationships does not make filePro wrong.  As
> I
> >> see it, they added meaning to some symbols to offer more levels of
> >> comparison.
> 
> >Ok, we're at the "whatever" stage, now.
> 
> >> Filepro added the COMPARE() function, that will compare two strings and
> >> will be true only if length and case are the same. This is what some
> are
> >> trying to make the "eq" operand determine.
> 
> >Yup: we want "equal to" to mean "equal to".
> 
> >> Mathematics is a set of rules.  Once the rules are determined and
> >> accepted, the mathematics can be developed to determine other "truths".
> 
> >Correct.
> 
> >> Computer languages are the same, filePro defined the rules and
> >> assumptions, you build your programming from there.
> 
> >"...defined" *it's* rules and assumptions, which differ markedly in
> >many ways from those of other extant languages at the time it was
> >designed.  You keep trying to give filePro pride of place on this
> >topic, and it simply isn't old enough for that.
> 
> >>                                                      I realize some
> >> programmers would prefer to have the rules determined by other
> languages
> >> or systems, but that does not change the fact that filepro has already
> >> defined the rules, long ago, that would be basic to filePro.  I find
> >> them to work well and don't see how they seem to offend so many.  I
> >> don't see any conflict with mathematical standards of logic for
> >> equivalence and equality.
> 
> >Probably, that's because you don't *program* in anything else.
> 
> >> Well I have made my argument.  I do not suggest that any other language
> >> is incorrect or that any person posting is wrong.  We are just seeing
> >> the rules a little differently.  I apologized for the rant.  Can't help
> >> myself today.
> >>
> >> Have an "equivalently" fabulous day.
> 
> ><chuckle>
> 
> >Cheers,
> >-- jra
> >--
> >Jay R. Ashworth
> jra at baylink.com
> >Designer                          Baylink                             RFC
> 2100
> >Ashworth & Associates        The Things I Think
> '87 e24
> >St Petersburg FL USA      http://baylink.pitas.com             +1 727 647
> 1274
> 
> >      "...the rough cannot be mean and the love cannot be true, and
> that's
> >      as wise as I can get at 10 o'clock in the morning."
> >      	-- Bill Shatner, on being an anti-hero.
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> 
> 
> Dick Burke
> 
> 
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