on writing a while loop for rolling two dice

[charles hottel]

On 9/7/2021 9:20 PM, Avi Gross wrote:
> Greg,
> 
> Yes, a smart person may come up with such tricks but a really smart person,
> in my view, adjusts. With some exceptions, such as when trying to port
> existing code to a new language quickly, someone who is not too obsessive
> will try to pick up the goals and spirit of a new language and use them when
> it seems reasonable. And, a smart person, if they see nothing new, might
> just go back to their old language or ...
> 
> Pick a language that easily supports regular expressions and object creation
> and functional programming and so on, like python, and ask why you might
> want to use it to simulate a really old version of BASIC when you can just
> use BASIC.
> 
> Admittedly, most people are not flexible. I find that with human languages
> too that some learn another language just enough to recognize words but not
> to use the changed grammar or the different idioms and never become fluent.
> 
> I am amused though at the fact that python, by using indentation rather than
> things like curly braces, would make some of the games like shown below
> quite a bit more difficult.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Python-list <python-list-bounces+avigross=verizon.net at python.org> On
> Behalf Of Greg Ewing
> Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 9:08 PM
> To: python-list at python.org
> Subject: Re: on writing a while loop for rolling two dice
> 
> On 8/09/21 2:53 am, Grant Edwards wrote:
>>     #define IF if (
>>     #define THEN ) {
>>     #define ELSE } else {
>>     #define ENDIF }
>>     ...
> 
> I gather that early versions of some of the Unix utilities were written by
> someone who liked using macros to make C resemble Algol.
> 
> I guess you can get away with that sort of thing if you're a Really Smart
> Person.
> 
> --
> Greg
> --
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
> 

So what do yoy think or feel about a language like RATFOR (Rational 
FORTRAN) which was implemented as macros?  Should they instead have 
simply adapted themselves to FORTRAN?