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	["605" "Fri" "13" "June" "1997" "15:32:30" "+0100" "Philip Taylor (RHBNC)" "CHAA006@VMS.RHBNC.AC.UK" nil "12" "Re: automatic numbering" "^Date:" nil nil "6" nil nil nil nil nil]
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Date:         Fri, 13 Jun 1997 15:32:30 +0100
From: "Philip Taylor (RHBNC)" <CHAA006@VMS.RHBNC.AC.UK>
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Subject:      Re: automatic numbering
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>> no, its not irrelevant at all. if language X is popular, the reliable
>> compilers/interpreters become widely available. hence the program becomes
>> portable.

This last is a complete non sequitur: the fact that "reliable compilers/
interpreters become widely available" simply creates an _illusion_ of
portability.  It is only when one discovers that each "reliable compiler"
implements its own dialect, that each operating system intersperses its
own nuances, that each architecture contributes its own artifacts, that
one discovers that such "portability" is a complete and utter myth...

** Phil.