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From: chris@umcp-cs.UUCP (Chris Torek)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: ranges
Message-ID: <1774@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 2-Jun-86 02:57:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.1774
Posted: Mon Jun  2 02:57:19 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 3-Jun-86 23:49:24 EDT
References: <5498@alice.uUCp> <1462@mmintl.UUCP> <852@bentley.UUCP> <1126@whuxl.UUCP> <393@peregrine.UUCP>
Reply-To: chris@maryland.UUCP (Chris Torek)
Organization: University of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Sci.
Lines: 18

In article <393@peregrine.UUCP> mike@peregrine.UUCP (Mike Wexler) writes:
>[...] Another feature I would like to have is a range data type.  I don't
>know of a good syntax for putting this in C but it would be nice to
>use in programs where are know the possible values of a number but
>would like the compiler to figure out an efficient sized slot to put
>it in.

Actually, I know of two uses for range types.  You have stated one;
the other is to catch errors where a variable should never take on
values outside certain range(s).  Pascal ranges seem sometimes to
serve one purpose, sometimes another; and the Berkeley Pascal
compiler includes runtime range checking iff one compiles with
`-C'.  Were I designing a language with ranges, I think I would
separate the two uses.
-- 
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 1516)
UUCP:	seismo!umcp-cs!chris
CSNet:	chris@umcp-cs		ARPA:	chris@mimsy.umd.edu