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From: wirzeniu@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Lars Wirzenius)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Machine readable form of K+R.
Message-ID: <1991Jun11.185507.24097@klaava.Helsinki.FI>
Date: 11 Jun 91 18:55:07 GMT
References: <676362087.62@egsgate.FidoNet.Org> <1991Jun11.120938.8196@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov>
Organization: University of Helsinki
Lines: 31

In article <1991Jun11.120938.8196@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> smbrush@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov writes:
>In article <676362087.62@egsgate.FidoNet.Org>, Lars.Wirzenius@f98.n250.z1.FidoNet.Org (Lars Wirzenius) writes...
                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
			  It seems this article was reposted by
			  somebody else. I wish they wouldn't do
			  that.

>>	"All examples have been tested directly from the text, which is
>>	in machine-readable form."
>
>A machine can READ the *program examples* in K&R, since they are typeset 
>in an evenly-spaced courier-like font.  This seems like a logical way 
>of checking the examples.

No, in fact the book probably was written using a computer, and the
examples were tested by extracting them from the manuscript (no doubt
using automated tools), or perhaps they were developed independently and
merged into the document later.

If you mean (as I assume you do) that the authors meant that the
examples are to be read into a computer using some kind of
OCR-equipment, then you should remember that the first edition was
published in 1978, when such devices weren't widely available.

>Like most others who responded to this thread, I'd be very surprised 
>if such a successful book was available in ELECTRONIC form.

It isn't. The book exists in electronic form, but it isn't generally
available.
-- 
Lars Wirzenius     wirzeniu@cc.helsinki.fi