Xref: utzoo comp.arch:3114 comp.lang.c:6197
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!faline!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!husc6!hao!ames!necntc!linus!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
From: franka@mmintl.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Null-terminated C strings
Keywords: C strings instructions architecture
Message-ID: <2637@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: 8 Jan 88 23:42:24 GMT
References: <14116@think.UUCP> <2958@okstate.UUCP> <152@piring.cwi.nl> <2033@geac.UUCP>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Followup-To: comp.lang.c
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT.
Lines: 14
Posted: Fri Jan  8 18:42:24 1988

[I have directed followups to comp.lang.c only]

I believe it was a mistake in C to make string constants refer to null
terminated strings automatically.  Better, I think, to make the constant
contain exactly what the programmer wrote.  That way, other string-
representation schemes could be used easily and conveniently.  As it is,
null-terminated strings are more convenient than they would be if it were
done this way, but anything else is much uglier.

It is, of course, much too late to change the language in this way.
-- 

Frank Adams                           ihnp4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Ashton-Tate          52 Oakland Ave North         E. Hartford, CT 06108