Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!ico!ism780c!haddock!karl
From: karl@haddock.ima.isc.com (Karl Heuer)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: parsing the format string at compile time...
Message-ID: <14938@haddock.ima.isc.com>
Date: 20 Oct 89 18:50:41 GMT
References: <705@nixbur.UUCP> <6737@hubcap.clemson.edu> <1856@xyzzy.UUCP> <990@cirrusl.UUCP>
Reply-To: karl@haddock.ima.isc.com (Karl Heuer)
Organization: Interactive Systems, Cambridge, MA 02138-5302
Lines: 17

In article <990@cirrusl.UUCP> dhesi%cirrusl@oliveb.ATC.olivetti.com (Rahul Dhesi) writes:
>[Rephrasing the previous conversation in an attempt to make it correct:]
>     If traditional C did allow this, it would not be traditional C.
>     The traditional C compiler knows nothing about any functions,
>     including I/O.
>
>     Right.  However, the ANSI standard...

No, the correct rephrase is:

     Pcc on a VAX happens not to do this.  Therefore, if your compiler does
     do this, it isn't pcc on a VAX.

     Right.  But it's still a valid C implementation, using either the ANSI
     Standard or pre-ANSI common-law as a touchstone.

Karl W. Z. Heuer (ima!haddock!karl or karl@haddock.isc.com), The Walking Lint