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From: colonel@sunybcs.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: Precedent for use of =
Message-ID: <411@sunybcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 15-Jul-86 13:28:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: sunybcs.411
Posted: Tue Jul 15 13:28:57 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Jul-86 07:12:44 EDT
References: <499@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> <2323@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Save the Dodoes Foundation
Lines: 19

> >As long as you're writing in C, and you REALLY know the language, the above
> >construct would be ridiculous.  I think that most of the folks that are
> >unhappy with the way that C handles = and == are frustrated Pascal hackers
> >who can't quite adjust to the power and terseness of C.
> 
> Unfortunately, it's that kind of attitude that leads to the perpetuation of
> bad language constructs.

Let's keep the blame where it belongs: in letting assignments be expressions.
FORTRAN uses `=' for assignment, and nobody ever complained except an
occasional mathematician who couldn't understand "I=I+1".  = was obviously
appropriate, safe, and convenient for a "FORmula TRANslation" language.

Personally, I like Modula-2's `#' for .NE. ... but it takes getting used to!
-- 
Col. G. L. Sicherman
UU: ...{rocksvax|decvax}!sunybcs!colonel
CS: colonel@buffalo-cs
BI: csdsicher@sunyabva