DECUS-10-118-PartII BlissReadings Dec71

This document, DECUS 10-118 Part II, dated December 1, 1971, is a collection of readings on the BLISS-10 programming language. Its primary purpose is to supplement the official BLISS-10 Reference Manual by providing a general description of the language, explaining its unique features and critical design choices, and describing supporting software.

The collection includes papers on:

• BLISS as a Systems Programming Language: Covering its design considerations for writing production software systems (e.g., compilers, loaders, operating systems) and early experiences.
• Language Features: Illustrating the use of BLISS through examples, including discussions on "Programming Without the GOTO" (justifying the omission of the GOTO statement) and "Why the DOT?" (explaining the pointer and contents concepts).
• Efficient Data Accessing: Detailing how data structure specifications are isolated from allocation and data types in BLISS.
• Support Software: Describing a debugging aid ("HELP") that augments DDT, and a timing utility ("TIMER") for gathering program statistics in BLISS-10.

The document emphasizes that it is a user-contributed program, not subject to DECUS quality control, and is provided for informational purposes only, with no warranty or responsibility assumed by Digital Equipment Corporation.