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From: fyl@ssc.UUCP (Phil Hughes)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: MAJOR ANSI C WART (my opinion, of course)
Message-ID: <791@ssc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 22-Oct-87 10:48:01 EST
Article-I.D.: ssc.791
Posted: Thu Oct 22 10:48:01 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Oct-87 08:59:55 EST
References: <1298@wyszecki.munsell.UUCP> <1386@dataio.Data-IO.COM>
Organization: SSC, Inc., Seattle, WA
Lines: 31
Summary: Walter, I agree but the ANSI charter doesn't

In article <1386@dataio.Data-IO.COM>, bright@dataio.Data-IO.COM (Walter Bright) writes:
> In article <1298@wyszecki.munsell.UUCP> jwf@munsell.UUCP (Jim Franklin) writes:
> >The proposed ANSI C limit of 6 characters on external symbols is
> >completely bogus.

> Compiler vendors have to do a lot of work to convert K+R compilers into
> ANSI C compilers. Since they will have to do this work anyway, what's the
> big deal about fixing the linker so it will handle 32 character names?

I agree a reasonable limit (like 32 characters) would be nice but so would
a lot of other changes in C.  I had the same opinion about a few other
desirable changes until I was talking to Larry Rosler (who, at the time,
was the ATT member on the ANSI C committee) about them.  The ANSI charter
requires that they "document common usage" rather than do it right.  In
other words, you cannot invent a new language with an ANSI standard but
only document an existing one.  When there is a conflict in common usage
you have to weigh the inconvenience of one choice over the amount of
broken existing code for another.  

This is why there are some non-progressive decisions on the part of the
ANSI committee.  I have met five of the committee members and have been
an observing member of the committee for a couple of years.  Although
I don't always like the final decisions from my personal point of view, I 
am impressed with the dedication of the committee members in fulfilling
their charter.

Now, for C++, ...
-- 
Phil Hughes, SSC, Inc. P.O. Box 55549,
Seattle, WA 98155  (206)FOR-UNIX or 527-3385
    ...!uw-beaver!tikal!ssc!fyl