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From: dlnash@ut-ngp.UUCP (Donald L. Nash)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c,net.lang.c++
Subject: Why are typedef names in the same name space as variable names?
Message-ID: <4220@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-Oct-86 13:52:05 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-ngp.4220
Posted: Mon Oct 27 13:52:05 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 27-Oct-86 22:32:20 EST
Organization: UTexas Computation Center, Austin, Texas
Lines: 24
Keywords: typedef variable name space
Xref: mnetor net.lang.c:6214 net.lang.c++:398

Why are typedef names in the same name space as variable names?  In C
this presents very few problems, but in C++ it causes problems.  Since
class names are implicitly made into typedef names, they are also in the
same name space as variable names.  This means that you cannot have
something like:

	struct foo { /* ... */ };

	int foo;

in C++.

I know it is really too late to change anything, but I'm still curious why C
was made this way.  Speak up, BWK and DMR!!! :-)  Flames to /dev/null, please.

				Don Nash

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