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Internet Message Format  |  1991-03-14  |  830b
  1. From: ok@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au (Richard A. O'Keefe)
  2. Newsgroups: comp.lang.c,alt.sources
  3. Subject: Re: Small introspective program
  4. Message-ID: <4963@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au>
  5. Date: 14 Mar 91 00:22:23 GMT
  6.  
  7. The subject line is seriously misleading.  None of the examples that
  8. has been posted has anything to do with INTROSPECTION (one might call
  9. 3-Lisp introspective, perhaps even Scheme, with its built in function
  10. call-with-current-continuation).  They are SELF-REPRODUCING programs,
  11. which is something rather different.  A program would be introspective
  12. if it could take a step back from itself and watch its own workings.
  13. (One might even call a UNIX program that has called monitor() or profil()
  14. an introspective program.)  Self-reproducing programs are old hat.
  15. -- 
  16. The purpose of advertising is to destroy the freedom of the market.
  17.