[OT] Pascal identifiers [digression] (was Re: Which code style do you prefer the most?)

On 02.03.2025 19:28, Scott Lurndal wrote:

Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> writes:

On 02.03.2025 17:32, Scott Lurndal wrote:

>
  Total_memory := 0;
  REPEAT
    Ss_status := $GETJPI( PIDADR := Wild_pid, EFN := 4, ITMLST := Jpi_list );
    IF ODD( Ss_status ) AND (Terminal_len <> 0) THEN
    BEGIN
      $WAITFR( 4 );                     { Wait for asynch stuff to return }
>

>
What's that '$' preceding the function names? (I don't recall that
from the Pascal standard or from the versions I programmed with.)

 
"$" is a legal character in the set that can be used for Pascal identifiers

Hmm.. - I've never seen that before.

Actually I had learned Pascal in the early 80's from a book that was -
if memory serves correctly - based on Addyman: "A draft proposal for
Pascal", which (ISTR) was the base for the Pascal standard? - The
book defines identifiers like  [A-Z][A-Z0-9]* . - Of course I may be
misremembering; after all it was nearly 45 years ago that I read it.
- Or could it have been a non-standard implementation on the VAX 11?

(and, indeed, in C, specifically to support Digital dialects).

...sounds like it.

But VAX/Pascal identifiers are anyway of not much interest nowadays,
and specifically here; we're digressing. - Subject adjusted. exit(1)

Janis

 
In this particular case, the usage mirrors the MACRO-32 system call
identifiers.   $GETJPI calls the operating system Get Job Information
system call which takes an item list and returns per-item data (e.g.
process identifier, user id, terminal association, etc) to the caller.