Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!dali.cs.montana.edu!milton!uw-beaver!ubc-cs!alberta!oha!tony
From: tony@oha.UUCP (Tony Olekshy)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: How to force cpp to abort?
Message-ID: <444@oha.UUCP>
Date: 16 Aug 90 19:05:52 GMT
References: <MIKEG.90Aug11180036@c3.c3.lanl.gov> <17377@haddock.ima.isc.com> <MIKEG.90Aug13092741@c3.c3.lanl.gov> <1990Aug14.174615.22829@zoo.toronto.edu>
Organization: Olekshy Hoover & Associates Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Lines: 29
In-Reply-To: Message <1990Aug14.174615.22829@zoo.toronto.edu> dated 14 Aug 90 17:46:15 GMT

In message <1990Aug14.174615.22829@zoo.toronto.edu>, henry@zoo.toronto.edu
(Henry Spencer) writes:
>
> In article <MIKEG.90Aug13092741@c3.c3.lanl.gov> mikeg@c3.c3.lanl.gov
> (Michael P. Gerlek) writes:
> >
> >... Can someone tell me why there isn't something
> >like an "#abort error-message-here" directive that *would* terminate?
> 
> Response to error conditions was generally considered to be a "quality
> of implementation" issue outside the province of the standard.  One
> might ask why you *want* to do this...

From the Indian Hill C Style and Coding Standards as amended for U of T
Zoology UNIX:

     32. If you #ifdef dependencies, make sure that if no machine is
         specified, the result is a syntax error, not a default machine!

This is excellent advice.  However, it would be nice if the user could be
given some information on what happened, instead of just a syntax error.
We use #include "*** Useful Message Here ***", which works, but says things
like ``can't find *** Useful Message Here ***'', which is slightly misleading
if you're not expecting it.

--
Yours etc., Tony Olekshy.               Internet: tony%oha@CS.UAlberta.CA
					  BITNET: tony%oha.uucp@UALTAMTS.BITNET
					    uucp: alberta!oha!tony