CALL FOR DISCUSSION: comp.lang.modula3

I would like to propose the creation of comp.lang.modula3.


NAME:


    comp.lang.modula3


STATUS:


    unmoderated


CHARTER:


    Modula-3 is a new programming language (see below for a
    short description). This newsgroup would serve to discuss all
    aspects of the language, such as use of language, good style,
    availability of implementations, implementation techniques.


WHY A GROUP ?


    There are currently two freely available implementations of the
    language. Other people are also working on implementations. There
    are also two mailing lists related to Modula-3: one as been setup to
    discuss the use of one of the implementations; the other deals more
    with implementation issues.


    It seems that the level of interest in Modula-3 and the traffic on
    theses lists is now large enough to justify the creation of a
    newsgroup.


SCHEDULE:


    1. Discussion:


          The discussion period will begin on Friday, October 5.


    2. Voting:


          Assuming that the discussion does not kill this proposal,
          I will issue a Call For Votes on Friday, November 2. The vote
          will run for 21 days from when the Call For Votes appears in
          news.announce.newsgroups.


          I will post a second Call For Votes, and possibly a list of
          unreachable return addresses, during the voting period. When the
          vote is over, I will post the final results.


    3. Waiting Period:


          I will observe the normal waiting period of five days from the
          time that the final results appear in news.announce.newgroups.
          During this time, people may report lost votes.


    4. Consummation:


          After the waiting period, I will issue the appropriate control
          message to create comp.lang.modula3. About one week later, I
          will re-issue the creation control message.






SHORT DESCRIPTION OF MODULA-3:


    Modula-3 is a new programming language. The goals of its design are
    best encapsulated in the preface to the "The Modula-3 Report (Revised)",
    (L. Cardelli, J. Dohnaue, L. Glassman, M. Jordan, B. Kalsow, G. Nelson,
    DEC Systems Research Center, Palo Alto, CA and Olivetti Research
    Center, Menlo Park, CA, Nov 89.):




        The goal of Modula-3 is to be as simple and safe as it can be while
        meeting the needs of modern systems programmers. Instead of exploring
        new features, we studied the features of the Modula family of languages
        that have proven themselves in practice and tried to simplify them
        into a harmonious language. We found that most of the successful
        features were aimed at one of two main goals: greater robustness,
        and a simpler, more systematic type system.


        Modula-3 descends from Mesa, Modula-2, Cedar, and Modula-2+. It also
        resembles its cousins Object Pascal, Oberon, and Euclid.


        Modula-3 retains one of Modula-2's most successful features, the
        provision for explicit interfaces between modules. It adds objects
        and classes, exception handling, garbage collection, lightweight
        processes (or threads), and the isolation of unsafe features.
--
Eric Muller.
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