Re: Paper on PL/I

multicsfan wrote: 
The use is to get around the problem that is you have something like:

dcl a float bin;

a=3*4+2; /* IIRC this gives an answer of 4 in PL/1-F and other compilers */

all the number oare considerd fixed decimal (1,0) compile time so all the math is done as fixed decimal (1,0) until the assignment is reached at which point the fixed decimal(1,0) number is converted to float bin.

Not in any dialect of PL/I I'm familiar with. If MULTICS PL/I does that, it's a huge mistake. PL/I does have problems in this area, especially when fixed-point division is involved, but it isn't supposed to do that.

The usual decimal/binary failure is caused by not fully declaring ENTRY attributes.

CALL DOIT (2);
....

DOIT: PROCEDURE (X);
  DECLARE X FLOAT;
  ...

fails, but

DECLARE DOIT ENTRY (FLOAT);
....
CALL DOIT (2);
....

DOIT: PROCEDURE (X);
  DECLARE X FLOAT;
  ...

works.

--
John W. Kennedy
"But now is a new thing which is very old--
that the rich make themselves richer and not poorer,
which is the true Gospel, for the poor's sake."
  -- Charles Williams.  "Judgement at Chelmsford"
.

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