23 lines
1.4 KiB
Text
23 lines
1.4 KiB
Text
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This is a C implementation of the original Macro SIL (SNOBOL4 Implementation
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Language) version of SNOBOL4, originally developed at ATT Bell Labs.
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SNOBOL4, primarily known as a string processing language, excels at any task
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involving symbolic manipulations. The interpreter provides run-time typing,
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garbage collection, user defined data types, and on-the-fly sub-interpretation
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within a running program. Its primary weakness is a simple syntax, and a lack
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of "structured" constructs, although many would consider these to be strengths
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when compared to some "modern" and ever-changing agglomerations such as Perl.
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While not computationally speedy, it is handy for minimizing development time
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and effort when creating data conversion tools. This is because of its data
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manipulation functions, associative memory data structures, and an extensive
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set of sophisticated built-in string pattern matching primatives.
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SNOBOL4 consists of one relatively small executable file, without the scads
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of associated libraries and modules that make package management difficult.
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Although developed in the early 1960s (the SNOBOL3 primer was published by the
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MIT press in 1967), some feel that it is still ahead of its time today. While
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it is fully functional and extensively tested, it is no longer evolving, having
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reached the desirable stable plateau in any programming language's life cycle.
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