Philip Taylor writes: > >> b) please lets have portable programs written in the genuinely > >> popular langauges, viz TeX or C++ > > Please let's have portable programs written in the genuinely > PORTABLE languages; popularity is completely irrelevant. no, its not irrelevant at all. if language X is popular, the reliable compilers/interpreters become widely available. hence the program becomes portable. its called a _de facto standard_..... sebastian