Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!philmtl!ray From: ray@philmtl.philips.ca (Ray Dunn) Newsgroups: comp.lang.c Subject: Re: This one bit me today Message-ID: <750@philmtl.philips.ca> Date: 6 Oct 89 19:58:03 GMT References: <2432@hub.UUCP> <568@sppy00.UUCP> Reply-To: ray@philmtl.philips.ca (Ray Dunn) Organization: Philips Electronics Ltd. - St. Laurent P.Q., Canada Lines: 25 In article <568@sppy00.UUCP> dwb@sppy00.UUCP (David Burhans) writes: >In article <2432@hub.UUCP> dougp@voodoo.ucsb.edu writes: >4> c=b/*p; > > First real flaw in the C grammer I have found. > >This is not a flaw in the C grammer, it is a flaw in the c programmer. This, as we all know by now of course, is a matter of religion. So let me restate the principles of *my* sect: No this *is* a flaw in the C grammer, because it does not take into account what a perfectly reasonably human is likely to do erroneously. To say that it is not the fault of 'C' which leaves this pitfall (and the others we know and love), for we mortals to fall into, is like blaming the driver in an accident caused by the car's gas and brake pedals being positioned too close. Obviously the driver is not operating the controls properly, but it is the design of the controls that makes it *easy* to make the mistake. -- Ray Dunn. | UUCP: ray@philmt.philips.ca Philips Electronics Ltd. | ..!{uunet|philapd|philabs}!philmtl!ray 600 Dr Frederik Philips Blvd | TEL : (514) 744-8200 Ext : 2347 (Phonemail) St Laurent. Quebec. H4M 2S9 | FAX : (514) 744-6455 TLX : 05-824090