Newsgroups: comp.std.c
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Comment Syntax
Message-ID: <1990Nov16.172018.19638@zoo.toronto.edu>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <14390@smoke.brl.mil> <48.UUL1.3#5077@aussie.COM> <I4=67D4@xds13.ferranti.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 90 17:20:18 GMT

In article <I4=67D4@xds13.ferranti.com> peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) writes:
>> ANSI's phases of translation require that backslash/new-lines be 
>> processed BEFORE comments.
>
>Why?
>Makes sense for me for comment processing to come first, before
>anything else.

The intent is that it be possible to split lines mechanically, e.g. to deal
with machines with stupid line-length limits, and hence it is desirable to
have backslash-newline processing first so that you don't have to tokenize
the source to decide where line breaks are safe.
-- 
"I don't *want* to be normal!"         | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
"Not to worry."                        |  henry@zoo.toronto.edu   utzoo!henry