Re: Low-level vs. High-level programming

["Randy McLaughlin" <randy@nospam.com>]

"Kevin Lawton" <kepla@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bd5fsv$qli$5@titan.btinternet.com...
> Randy McLaughlin <randy@nospam.com> wrote:
> | <nospam@nouce.bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
> | 3ef5c8f1.2897196257@news.bellatlantic.net">news:3ef5c8f1.2897196257@news.bellatlantic.net...
> || On Sat, 21 Jun 2003 00:57:07 +0200, "Tjoff Tjonk" <tjoff@tjonk.now>
> || wrote:
> ||
> ||| On Fri, 20 Jun 2003 23:32:51 +0000, Simon Williams wrote:
> |||
> |||| though if there is an HTML
> |||| interpreter available for the Apple II I'd be very pleased to hear
> |||| about it :)
> |||
> ||| Take a look at Contiki, it contains an HTML interpreter.
> ||
> || Feh... what was emacs written in?  Teco scripts lead to Vteco were
> || handy as are DCL derived appications.
> ||
> || If you can do it in asm you can do it in any languge that is
> || sufficiently complete.    However I've love to see some one write
> || HTML that can set Bit 3 of the DDR on a port.
> ||
> || It's all noise most of this.
> ||
> || Allison
> |
> | I would love to see someone control a port at a non-standard address
> | in Basic, Fortran, Cobol, C, C++, etc without using extensions beyond
> | the standard language.  The truth is that your statement "If you can
> | do it in asm you can do it in any language that is sufficiently
> | complete." is not quite true.  Many computer languages do have
> | limitations built into them. One good example is reentrant code, some
> | can some can not.
>
> Fine, and I would love to oblige you.
> If you would care to give me the address of the hypothetical port, then I
> would be happy to furnish you with examples in Basic (yeauch !), Fortran,
> Cobol and C. Can't really clain to know C++ that well, but might be
> persuaded to give it a try. Might even be persuaded to give it a go in
> Forth, Assembler and Java too if you ask nicely (and pay well). Please
don't
> ask me to try it in HTML or XML.
> Kevin.
> P.S. Computer programming services at �30 per hour, plus expenses.

You might no be aware of it but without extensions these languages do not
access hardware directly.  It does not matter how much you charge (your
rates seem low to me) it can not be done.  If a computer can do the task it
can be done in asm,  if it can be done in asm it does not guarantee it can
be done in another language.  I pointed out that the posters statement that
to be a computer programming language you must be able to do what can be
done in asm is incorrect.