Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!lll-winken!uunet!abvax!iccgcc!herrickd
From: herrickd@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: new instructions
Summary: Open foot, insert mouth, now talk
Keywords: egg on face
Message-ID: <4729.2844f682@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com>
Date: 30 May 91 17:56:33 GMT
References: <9105200213.AA05095@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> <12526@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> <4711.2843a523@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com>
Lines: 29

In article <4711.2843a523@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com>, herrickd@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com writes:
> In article <12526@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin) writes:
> [Herman supplies some of the specifics people have been asking for]
> 
>> There are provisions for octal and hex
>> integers [in c],

[Never being slow with the foot around an open mouth, I said]
> 
> I thought so too, and one day I tried to write an integer constant
> in octal.  The compiler said, "Nuts to you!"  It took some hours,
> but I finally convinced myself that the compiler manual and then
> Kernigan and Ritchie provide octal notation for CHARACTERS.  Nothing
> else!  I thought it was a major design flaw and was no accident.
> 
> dan herrick
> herrickd@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com

Several people have quietly pointed out that c recognizes constants
with a leading zero as octal numerals.  Even one from Edinburgh
Castle (according to his domain name)!

So now I know I was dumb that day several years ago - I honestly did
work hard trying to find it in the indexes and so on, but I was
fixated on the \377 notation, which probably blinded me to 0777.

Thank you all.

dan herrick