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From: peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: comma operator
Message-ID: <5418@ficc.uu.net>
Date: 1 Aug 89 18:46:32 GMT
References: <10099@mpx2.mpx.com> <93@microsoft.UUCP> <10100@mpx2.mpx.com> <13184@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
Lines: 28

Herewith the only use for the comma operator outside a macro that I can
think of:

	for(init1, init2; test; incr1, incr2)...

For example:

	for(i = 0, c = first(); i < MAX && c != TERM; i++, c = next())
		whatever...;

This can be written, at the cost of some logical relatedness:

	i = 0;
	c = first();
	while(i < MAX && c != TERM) {
		whatever...;
		i++;
		c = next();
	}

Which is IMHO less readable. In addition, if !whatever...;! contains any
!continue! statements, they would have to be implemented as gotos or the
!i++; c = next();! would have to be duplicated.
-- 
Peter da Silva, Xenix Support, Ferranti International Controls Corporation.
Business: peter@ficc.uu.net, +1 713 274 5180. | "The sentence I am now
Personal: peter@sugar.hackercorp.com.   `-_-' |  writing is the sentence
Quote: Have you hugged your wolf today?  'U`  |  you are now reading"