Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!paperboy!meissner From: meissner@osf.org (Michael Meissner) Newsgroups: comp.editors Subject: Re: vi and emacs Message-ID: Date: 12 Mar 91 17:00:14 GMT References: <1991Jan30.224717.6150@bradley.bradley.edu> <1991Mar3.071231.29271@cs.ucla.edu> <39861@cup.portal.com> <40012@cup.portal.com> Sender: news@OSF.ORG Organization: Open Software Foundation Lines: 26 In-reply-to: ts@cup.portal.com's message of 10 Mar 91 13:10:31 GMT In article <40012@cup.portal.com> ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) writes: | >> Because the vast majority of programmers have no need to know the ASCII | >> code. | > | >Exactly right. The vast majority of programmers are coding in COBOL on | >machines that use EBCDIC. | | No, the vast majority are using modern languages where the compiler | handles translating things like 'a' into the appropriate ASCII code | (or EBCDIC code if that's what the machine uses). | | Unless you program like this: | | unsigned char main[] = { 12, 17, 97, 243, 122 }; | | you rarely need to know ASCII codes. Or unless you build an array which uses the character code as an index (ie, you want to say array[ch] where ch = 'a', and array is initialized statically). -- Michael Meissner email: meissner@osf.org phone: 617-621-8861 Open Software Foundation, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA, 02142 Considering the flames and intolerance, shouldn't USENET be spelled ABUSENET?