Re: Inform: How to make TINY container?
Tue, 22 Aug 1995 11:20:21 -0400
gdr11@cl.cam.ac.uk (Gareth Rees) writes:
> Jim Newland <76461.2144@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> > [limits on attributes and properties]
>
> In my opinion, the limits on attributes and properties imposed by the
> Z-machine are the main area in which Inform loses out to TADS (the other
> main areas are dynamic memory allocation and multiple undo).
>
> Any kind of serious commitment to the object-oriented style of
> programming demands the storing of data with objects, but with only 48
> attributes and 62 properties (and the limit of 64 bytes for static data
> stored in a property), this is difficult to do successfully.
I find that my commitment to debugging vastly outweighs my commitment
to OO-style code. So I use global variables instead of properties if
the data applies to a single object. It's easier than worrying about
collision between aliased properties.
For that matter, OO-style *programming* does not mean you must use the
OO-style *features* in the particular language in question. The fox in
Weather has several global variables associated with it, and they are
logically part of the fox object.
Of course, globals are limited in Inform too. Sigh.
--Z
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."