I happened across this node by BrowserUk, and it made me stop to ponder. I started a new thread since that one is 5 years old, and it is really a different subject. This is Perl related, since one of my projects is to try to write a fully formal specification for things Perl 6 is supposed to do. I in fact used phrases like "the behavior is undefined". Actually, I haven't used that exact phrase in my notes, but I think about it.

So, in describing "the behavior of a feature", what is the correct tense to use? What is specifically incorrect? And what would be the proper way to announce that the the behavior is undefined?

Hmm, maybe that's just a shortcut for saying that the specification for the behavior is undefined. But if the whole thing is in some kind of weird imperfect or literary timeless tense, is that implied, grammatically?

—John

In reply to The behavior is [sic] undefined by John M. Dlugosz

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