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From: Kaz Kylheku <643-408-1753@kylheku.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.awk
Subject: Re: UID: Generating pointers in awk
Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2024 18:19:47 -0000 (UTC)
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On 2024-10-13, Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 11.10.2024 22:26, digi_cs wrote:
>> Janis: What do you mean by "strong values"?
>> 
>> See documentation: hid
>
> This answer makes no sense, and it explains nothing.

I suspect "strong value" might be a superfluous synonym for "object".

I.e. something that keeps its identity and state as you pass
it around anywhere you like. It's strong because its pieces stay
together, accessible through the same handle.

In Awk, you can't pass aggregate values around other than strings.

You can pass associative arrays down into functions, but not
return them, or assign them from one variable to another.

If arrays could be returned and assigned, they could be used to simulate
objects with fields, like the way dicts are used in JS.  (Which is not
great, but better than hacks like indices into global arrays to simulate
pointers.)