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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!tektronix!orca!mako!seifert
From: seifert@mako.UUCP (Snoopy)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: The wonders of C
Message-ID: <661@mako.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-Mar-85 22:33:04 EST
Article-I.D.: mako.661
Posted: Thu Mar 21 22:33:04 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 23-Mar-85 03:05:34 EST
References: <1556@ritcv.UUCP> <155@cci-bdc.UUCP> <362@enmasse.UUCP> <7026@watdaisy.UUCP> <967@dual.UUCP>
Reply-To: seifert@mako.UUCP (Snoopy)
Distribution: net
Organization: The Daisy Hill Puppy Farm
Lines: 26
Summary: and the wonders of brain-damaged terminals

In article <967@dual.UUCP> paul@dual.UUCP (Baker) writes:

>But then the whole point of C is to make it easy to commit errors which
>superficially look correct, compile without a whimper and yet are totally
>wrong.  For example "if (X!=1)" ... compiles just as well as "if (x|=1)".
>On many terminals "|" and "!" are almost indistinguishable. "if (x<>1)
>would have been incredibly easier to understand, but, oh no, other people
>had used this and so was obviously unacceptable.

Why flame C because you have a brain-damaged terminal?  Many pairs
of characters are hard to distinguish on various terminals, but
that doesn't mean the language is bad.

I'd hate to hear what you must think of APL.

If you don't like C, fine.  Don't use it.  Use some other language.


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