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From: guy@rlgvax.UUCP (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: Macro Preprocessor Extensions
Message-ID: <394@rlgvax.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 27-Jan-85 17:23:29 EST
Article-I.D.: rlgvax.394
Posted: Sun Jan 27 17:23:29 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 2-Feb-85 21:02:09 EST
References: <249@talcott.UUCP> <49@mit-athena.ARPA>
Organization: CCI Office Systems Group, Reston, VA
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Xref: seismo net.lang.c:4160

>> (Statement to the effect that the C preprocessor should not be made
>> lots more feature-rich)

> I'd second this, with the added comment:  Every Unix(tm) I've ever seen
> had the m4(1) macro processor in its library.

This would be perfect, except that {x|x is a system with C} !=
{x|x is a UNIX or UNIX-lookalike system}.  Almost all (if not all) of
the systems in the difference between the first and second sets lack
"m4".

I still agree that an excessively feature-rich preprocessor encourages
the invention of private dialects of languages; even with the current
C preprocessor, things like the bastard Algol 68-like dialect that the Bourne
shell and ADB are written in makes maintenance of those programs a pain
at times.

	Guy Harris
	{seismo,ihnp4,allegra}!rlgvax!guy