23 Jun
2021
23 Jun
'21
11:59 a.m.
On Jun 23, 2021, at 2:44 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
There are the languages that are otherwise nearly impossible to compile.
Consider SNOBOL4 (although there is a compiled version called SPITBOL,
but without several hard-to-implement features). One can construct
statements at run time and execute them. A bit unusual back then, but
not so much today.
That just means compiling it at the time the constructed statement is submitted for
execution, then executing the generated code. No problem so long as the compiler is
available at run time. PDP-10 TECO did that (it has the same feature, executing a string
buffer full of commands). So does Python, and I suspect it solves it the same way.
paul