Extending Data Typing beyond the Bounds of Programming Languages

摘要

Strong data typing is now accepted as a feature of high level programming languages. Programmers have the ability to define a variety of data types for use within a program to suit a particular problem and appropriate use of values of each type is enforced. Similar facilities for defining and using typed values at the operating system and filestore level would be useful. One of the limitations of conventional operating systems is the inability of such systems to support flexible data typing when the data is to be passed between programs stored on filestore or processed by the command interpreter. The Flex programming support environment (PSE) developed at RSRE (Royal Signals and Radar Establishment) Malvern supports the definition of and use of data types (modes) for filestore objects and appropriate use of modes is supported by the Flex command interpreter. This appear discusses the Flex mode system and indicates how it supports the programmer in his task. It describes the use of flexible data structures on filestore, with support for data typing from the operating system and the command language interpreter. (Great Britain).