muller@src.dec.com (Eric Muller) (10/06/90)
I would like to propose the creation of comp.lang.modula3.
NAME:
comp.lang.modula3
STATUS:
unmoderated
CHARTER:
Modula-3 is a new programming language (see below for a
short description). This newsgroup would serve to discuss all
aspects of the language, such as use of language, good style,
availability of implementations, implementation techniques.
WHY A GROUP ?
There are currently two freely available implementations of the
language. Other people are also working on implementations. There
are also two mailing lists related to Modula-3: one as been setup to
discuss the use of one of the implementations; the other deals more
with implementation issues.
It seems that the level of interest in Modula-3 and the traffic on
theses lists is now large enough to justify the creation of a
newsgroup.
SCHEDULE:
1. Discussion:
The discussion period will begin on Friday, October 5.
2. Voting:
Assuming that the discussion does not kill this proposal,
I will issue a Call For Votes on Friday, November 2. The vote
will run for 21 days from when the Call For Votes appears in
news.announce.newsgroups.
I will post a second Call For Votes, and possibly a list of
unreachable return addresses, during the voting period. When the
vote is over, I will post the final results.
3. Waiting Period:
I will observe the normal waiting period of five days from the
time that the final results appear in news.announce.newgroups.
During this time, people may report lost votes.
4. Consummation:
After the waiting period, I will issue the appropriate control
message to create comp.lang.modula3. About one week later, I
will re-issue the creation control message.
SHORT DESCRIPTION OF MODULA-3:
Modula-3 is a new programming language. The goals of its design are
best encapsulated in the preface to the "The Modula-3 Report (Revised)",
(L. Cardelli, J. Dohnaue, L. Glassman, M. Jordan, B. Kalsow, G. Nelson,
DEC Systems Research Center, Palo Alto, CA and Olivetti Research
Center, Menlo Park, CA, Nov 89.):
The goal of Modula-3 is to be as simple and safe as it can be while
meeting the needs of modern systems programmers. Instead of exploring
new features, we studied the features of the Modula family of languages
that have proven themselves in practice and tried to simplify them
into a harmonious language. We found that most of the successful
features were aimed at one of two main goals: greater robustness,
and a simpler, more systematic type system.
Modula-3 descends from Mesa, Modula-2, Cedar, and Modula-2+. It also
resembles its cousins Object Pascal, Oberon, and Euclid.
Modula-3 retains one of Modula-2's most successful features, the
provision for explicit interfaces between modules. It adds objects
and classes, exception handling, garbage collection, lightweight
processes (or threads), and the isolation of unsafe features.
--
Eric Muller.
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