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Path: utzoo!yetti!geac!daveb
From: daveb@geac.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: MAJOR ANSI C FLAW (my opinion, of course)
Message-ID: <1647@geac.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 20-Oct-87 08:30:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: geac.1647
Posted: Tue Oct 20 08:30:09 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Oct-87 11:53:50 EDT
References: <9840@brl-adm.ARPA>
Reply-To: daveb@geac.UUCP (Dave Collier-Brown)
Organization: The little blue rock next to that twinkly star.
Lines: 30

In article <9840@brl-adm.ARPA> greg@bass.nosc.MIL writes:
>I think that this issue is important enough to add another message.
>There is a way to allow full external name significance without
>running afoul of old linkers, etc.
>
>A source to source translator can be provided which reduces the
>significance of C external identifiers to six monocase characters.

  A canonicalization algorithm which works well (with such a tool as
the above) is as follows:

	From the right, delete vowels. Do not delete the first
character.  If less than maxima, stop.
	From the right, delete underscores.  Do not delete the first
character.  If less than maxima, stop.
	Truncate at maximum.

  This is "good" in a human sense: it tends to generate pronounceable
short-forms of supplied words.
  Please note it need merely check it has achieved uniqueness in a
tool (such as the one referred to) which keeps a history of
abbreviated words.  It need not actually truncate.

 --dave (yes, I've used such a thing. ugly...) 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)
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