[MUD-Dev] Properties of computer languages

[Travis S. Casey]

On Wed, 16 Jun 1999, Caliban Tiresias Darklock wrote:

> I'm in the process of redesigning the macro language of my game, and I
> recall seeing at one time a list... a very short list... of things that a
> computer language absolutely required. Sort of a bare-bones "what you need
> to do everything you need to do in any given program". Two of the things on
> the list were conditionals (if/then/else) and iteration (for/next and
> do/while). There were either two or three other things listed, but I don't
> remember what they were. Does anyone here have a memory spark going off as
> to what list I'm talking about and where I can find it? I think one of the
> other things was something along the lines of subroutine/function declaration.

For a practical minimum, I suggest:

 - conditionals
 - indefinite iteration, with a way to jump out of the loop when necessary
 - variables (numeric and string)
 - assignment
 - mathematical operators
 - basic string operators
 - input
 - output

Things that are very nice to have:

 - functions
 - recursion
 - multiple iterators
 - "else" on if-then
 - switch statements

Of course, for a special-purpose language, you may not need some things --
e.g., some programs don't need strings.

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