Re: compiler directives; (was: Re: cheerful static typing (was: Any and Every... (was: Eval)))

[Howard Stearns <address@hidden>]

I'm not sure whether Dan was asking what  Michael meant by compiler-directives,
or what I meant.
FWIW, in Curl, the idea is that changing a compiler-directive does not affect
the semantics of  a working program (one that has been accepted by the compiler).

Christopher Barber wrote:
> NEBBLJEANMBKNGKEALONIEPACCAA.cbarber@curl.com">
> > Michael Vanier wrote:
> >
> > > This brings up an interesting point.  How do people on this
> > >       
> > list feel about
> > > allowing compiler directives in programming languages?
> > >         
> > Isn't every expression in a program a compiler directive?
> >         
>
> No.  The term "compiler directive" refers to meta instructions to the
> compiler that may affect how it works in some way, but aren't officially
> part of the program (although a directive might be required for a program to
> compile, link or run properly).  Typical examples are directives that enable
> or disable compilation errors or warnings, affect how code is generated, and
> so on.  Some languages allow compiler directives to be specified in the
> code.  Others force you to specify directives in the development
> environment, for example as command line flags.
>
> - Christopher
>
>