Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ceco!garry
From: garry@ceco.ceco.com (Garry Garrett)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Induction variable type / vc on Convex
Summary: C
	 machine specific
Message-ID: <411@ceco.ceco.com>
Date: 23 Feb 91 16:20:47 GMT
References: <1946@ruunsa.fys.ruu.nl> <1991Feb22.172142.16426@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Commonwealth Edison Co., Chicago, IL
Lines: 33

In article <1991Feb22.172142.16426@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>, mcdonald@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Doug McDonald) writes:
> 
> In article <1946@ruunsa.fys.ruu.nl> boogaard@ruunsa.fys.ruu.nl (Martin vdBoogaard) writes:
> >I use the Convex vectorizing C compiler vc (version 3.0) with -O2
> 
> This is a  *****VERY****** machine specific thing!!!
> 
> DO NOT POST IT HERE!!!

	I tend to disagree with this kind of attitude.  Many times the poster
is unsure if his or her problem is machine specific, compiler specific, or
a problem with C itself.  It never hurts to inform the audiance what compiler
you are using, and what platform you are using.  I get tired of people posting
machine specific answers for the wrong type of machine.  Not all of us have
the same machine running the same version of the same C compiler.  It would
almost be wastfull to have a zillion different newsgroups like comp.lang.c.ibm.pc
comp.lang.c.sunos, comp.lang.c.hp9000, comp.lang.c.prime.6550 ...  The same
discussions would happen again and again in all of these newsgroups.  I do agree
that when the poster knows that their question is machine specific, then they
should ask it in the appropriate newsgroup, but IMHO, comp.lang.c should be
a place where we can share our ideas all C issues, not just "Standard" C issues.
	Suppose someone has a question like "I have an IBM AT using Microsoft C
version 5.1 and I want to do xyz...".  Someone else can the answer "On my SUN 
running SUNOS 4.0 it's done like this..."  That way perhaps they poster with
the IBM may write his solution in such a way that it uses function calls similar
to the SUN's (even if he or she has to write a few that come with SUNOS), so
that one day, if the posters code is ever ported to a Unix platform it may 
require little or no modification to the source code.  I think that when a
poster has a question about their C compiler, that question BELONGS here.
I realize that there are alot of posters on this board who disagree with that
point of view, but it is only my opinion.

Garry Garrett