Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!sun-barr!decwrl!decvax!ima!cfisun!lakart!dg
From: dg@lakart.UUCP (David Goodenough)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: swap(x,y)
Message-ID: <678@lakart.UUCP>
Date: 1 Sep 89 17:00:07 GMT
References: <14479@haddock.ima.isc.com>
Organization: Lakart Corporation, Newton, MA
Lines: 29

karl@haddock.ima.isc.com (Karl Heuer) sez:
> I think if I were proposing a *language change* to solve this problem, I
> wouldn't ask for a builtin swap operator; it's too limited.  Might as well
> invent something that has other applications as well, .....

Why not use the BCPL comma operator:

	x, y = y, x;

I'd just suggest some other separator ('$' pops readily to mind), so you'd
have:

	x $ y = y $ x;

Now, when used in an expression, what value does it return, nex x or new y??

This could (of course) be expanded to things such as:

	x $ y $ z = y $ z $ x;

to do a three way rotation of variables.

Well, enough rambling from a deranged mind (just because I cut my teeth on
BCPL :-) ).
-- 
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