Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!ukc!reading!cf-cm!cybaswan!iiit-sh From: iiit-sh@cybaswan.UUCP (Steve Hosgood) Newsgroups: comp.std.c Subject: Re: Reserved names in ANSI C Keywords: linkers, redux Message-ID: <547@cybaswan.UUCP> Date: 12 Jul 89 13:54:58 GMT References: <2619@yunexus.UUCP> Organization: Institute for Industrial Information Technology Lines: 37 In article <2619@yunexus.UUCP>, davecb@yunexus.UUCP (David Collier-Brown) writes: > jeffrey@algor2.uu.net (Jeffrey Kegler) writes: > | The amount of effort that some projects are going to have to go > | through to obey the 6 character limit will rewrite many a linker. > > This discussion comes around about every six months. Ahem: > > 0) 6 characters is a lower limit of significance. You're allowed to use more. Yeah, but though you may be able to use more, a 'strictly conforming' program can't, otherwise it won't port to sites with 6-character linkers. In other words 6 characters *is* the real limit. > 3) Almost everyone will have to fix their linkers for Ada, or not be > able to get US (and some Canadian/NATO) government contracts. > Can't some use be made of that fact? If Ada becomes important due to the military backing, can't 'C' ride its wake (so to speak) and insist on a linker with sensible namewidth? Surely, most manufacturers (even the most stubborn) will upgrade the linkers if several much-wanted languages require such upgrades? I suppose the *real* trick is to persuade the FORTRAN committee to want a wider namespace from now onwards. Chances are that they're considering this already, otherwise FORTRAN won't be able to interface to Ada reliably, and there *must* be *some* requirement for that? Steve -----------------------------------------------+------------------------------ Steve Hosgood BSc, | Phone (+44) 792 295213 Image Processing and Systems Engineer, | Fax (+44) 792 295532 Institute for Industrial Information Techology,| Telex 48149 Innovation Centre, University of Wales, +------+ JANET: iiit-sh@uk.ac.swan.pyr Swansea SA2 8PP | UUCP: ..!ukc!cybaswan.UUCP!iiit-sh ----------------------------------------+------------------------------------- My views are not necessarily those of my employers!