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From: daveb@geac.UUCP (Dave Collier-Brown)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: MAJOR ANSI C FLAW (my opinion, of course)
Message-ID: <1610@geac.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 14-Oct-87 10:32:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: geac.1610
Posted: Wed Oct 14 10:32:45 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 15-Oct-87 19:47:20 EDT
References: <1132@gilsys.UUCP> <1246@bsu-cs.UUCP> <6543@brl-smoke.ARPA> <104@aimt.UUCP> <8992@mimsy.UUCP>
Reply-To: daveb@geac.UUCP (Dave Collier-Brown)
Organization: The little blue rock next to that twinkly star.
Lines: 38
Summary: an avoidable one, actually


In article <104@aimt.UUCP> breck@aimt.UUCP (Robert Breckinridge Beatie) writes:
>Hmmm...  why is a 6 character limit necessary in any environment?
>

In article <8992@mimsy.UUCP> chris@mimsy.UUCP (Chris Torek) writes:
>Because some vendors like FORTRAN---or should I say,
>	PROGRAM BECAUS
>These vendors refuse to go through (or put their users through) the
>trauma of converting compilers, linkers, debuggers, and such.


  Actually this is *real* easy to change, if the supplier stays in
business for a few years:
   First, you change the standard compilers to generate a new linker
record-type, "long name", and the linker to use it.  You don't tell
*ANYONE* about this.
   Then you wait until more than 90% of the sites are using that
recent a release of the system, and announce that the next release
will drop support of the old linkage-record format.
   30% of the customers complain.
   25% are reasurred that they're already using the new type.
    3% upgrade to a later linker (not necessarily the latest), and
your sales manager smiles...
   You announce the drop of the old format, but really only insert an
error-message routine to warn of the old format.
    7% complain about the funny messages.
   Your sales manager $miles again.

   You can now drop support for the old record type whenever sales
says its advisable.

 --dave (this is part of "churning the base") c-b
-- 
 David Collier-Brown.                 {mnetor|yetti|utgpu}!geac!daveb
 Geac Computers International Inc.,   |  Computer Science loses its
 350 Steelcase Road,Markham, Ontario, |  memory (if not its mind)
 CANADA, L3R 1B3 (416) 475-0525 x3279 |  every 6 months.