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From: msau@wpi.wpi.edu (Matt Saucier)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Nested Comments in C -- A recent experience
Message-ID: <9631@wpi.wpi.edu>
Date: 13 Mar 90 04:55:22 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass.
Lines: 26

IMO, a source level debugger is great for spotting problems like this...
"Whoops - it skipped a statement - Oh, I don't believe it... I forgot to close
the comment!"  Anyways, I've had similar problems, but, like someone else
mentioned - some compilers yell about a variable being used before it was
given a value.

To Mr HS.  If you say that C compilers that allow, or can allow, nested
comments are not C compilers, then you are very nieve.  There are times,
in which nested comments are a plus; Although I don't use the nested comment
method (I use #ifdef DEBUG #endif (or whatever)), I know a lot of people who
do use them.  They use TurboC.  And if you don't call that a C compiler,
maybe you should open your eyes.  TC has an option to turn on nested comments;
it's default is no nested comments.  Yes, if the option is on, it is not
technically, ANSI (nor K&R) C.  But who EVER ports C code while debugging?
I don't think ANYONE would be foolish enough to leave nested comments in
a completed, running program (actually, I could be wrong, but they are very
foolish indeed)  Nested comments, IMHO, are provided as an option for those
who have a certian style of debugging.  Just because a compiler offers an
extra FEATURE doesn't mean that it's not a C compiler - it's just helpful.


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