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- From: jackf@sisna.com
- Newsgroups: comp.lang.basic.visual.misc,comp.lang.pascal.delphi.misc,comp.lang.c++
- Subject: Re: "SHOULD I DUMP VISUAL BASIC?"
- Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 16:34:00 GMT
- Message-ID: <3129f6ce.1813908@news.sisna.com>
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- On Sun, 18 Feb 1996 17:56:34 +1000, John Osborne
- <josborne@magna.com.au> wrote:
-
- >Pat, et. al....
- >The compiled .vs. interpreted debate is partially bogus. Even in
- >compiled languages, on a PC or a mainframe, as soon as ones code enters
- >a runtime library routine, you are -probably- off into
- >interpretation-land.
- >I say -probably- because if your runtime routine has any conditional
- >statements that cause the routine to act differently depending on
- >parameter content (i.e., different logic paths) it is
- >"mini-interpreting".
- >
- >For example, you call the printf routine in -C-, or a formatted -write-
- >statement in Fortran, VB's Format$ routine, or just about any
- >non-trivial Delphi component, and you are executing an interpreter of
- >that language feature. Sure, the printf function in the -C- runtime
- >library is compiled, as is the ChartFX component in Delphi, or the
- >read/write routines in a Tandem Cobol program, but the runtime system
- >has to -interpret- your parameters via lots of conditional statements to
- >make sense of your parameters/data and perform the requested action.
- >When using VB or other -statement based- interpreted languages, where
- >most people suffer a performance hit is doing things like writing their
- >own INSTR function -within- VB. Each p-code statement has to be
- >interpreted via VBRUNxxx.DLL which is far worse than just using the
- >library routine.
- >
- >Regards, John
- >
- >viewer wrote:
- >>
- >> Pat White <pat@pwhite.demon.co.uk> wrote:
- >>
- >> >In nearly 40 years in computing I've never come across anything in any
- >> >language definition that prevents compiling. That includes BASIC which
- >> >is where this discussion started and p-code. Likewise, they COULD all be
- >> >interpreted, only most companies realise compiling is better. Microsoft
- >> >is the exception - they tried and failed badly, anyone remember their
- >> >Fortran compiler for the PC. When it compiled without falling over you
- >> >were amazed. When you ran the results you were sorry!
- >>
- >> OTOH, their DOS Basic compilers were fantastic.
-
- I believe John is incorrect if he is saying as it appears that any
- code which has a decission tree is interpretive. Interpretive
- languages vs compiled has nothing to do with the logic of the code.
- The point is that compiled (true compiled not pcode) languages are
- already in binary form and so executable directly while each line of
- an interpretive language is converted to binary, each time it is
- executed. Four calls to the BASIC print function results in for
- "compiles" at run time. Four calls to printf in C results in one
- compile at compile time and no compiles at run time. The difference
- is not trivial in terms of speed of execution. Note that the printf
- function is a bad example as it carries more overhead than most C
- functions.
- Jack
-