Newsgroups: comp.std.c
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Order of Evaluation
Message-ID: <1989Nov18.232326.23711@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <21265@usc.edu>
Date: Sat, 18 Nov 89 23:23:26 GMT

In article <21265@usc.edu> gould@physics.usc.edu (Christopher M. Gould) writes:
>	Why is the order of evaluation of subexpressions undefined?

(1) Because compilers can optimize better if they are free to rearrange
	subexpressions.  Often a lot better.

(2) Because [mount pulpit] you shouldn't be depending on such ugliness
	anyway, so it shouldn't make a difference.

>... it would reduce the number of ambiguous statements
>legally constructed within the language.  (Whether this is in itself a
>"good thing" is perhaps the real issue.)

Good programmers simply avoid the ambiguity.  I can't see that it does
any harm.  Attempting to legislate good programming does not work.
-- 
A bit of tolerance is worth a  |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
megabyte of flaming.           | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu