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Date:      Thu, 29 Jul 1999 23:02:07 -0400 (EDT)
From:      Garrett Wollman <wollman@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu>
To:        Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com>
Cc:        chat@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: cvs commit: src/sys/netinet ip_fw.c
Message-ID:  <199907300302.XAA15392@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu>
In-Reply-To: <19990730093259.A93194@freebie.lemis.com>
References:  <Pine.BSF.4.10.9907291008390.13541-100000@janus.syracuse.net> <199907291156.NAA06494@labinfo.iet.unipi.it> <19990730093259.A93194@freebie.lemis.com>

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At the risk of continuing this already pointless thread...

<<On Fri, 30 Jul 1999 09:32:59 +0930, Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com> said:

>   The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to
>   constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every
>   appearance, the variable PI can be given that value with a DATA
>   statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant.  This
>   also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change.
>                 -- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers

From my ever-excrescent .plan file:

	There is no _inherent_ virtue in symbolic names.  Pi over two is
	GROSSLY unlikely to change in circumstances where Pi remains constant.

	The *only* reason such idiotic symbols became popular is (I believe)
	that [a] bug in the original Pascal type definition mechanism forbids
	expressions in some random selection of contexts.  Do not bow down to
	Wirth nor worship him.
		- Stephen P. Spackman

-GAWollman

--
Garrett A. Wollman   | O Siem / We are all family / O Siem / We're all the same
wollman@lcs.mit.edu  | O Siem / The fires of freedom 
Opinions not those of| Dance in the burning flame
MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA|                     - Susan Aglukark and Chad Irschick


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