Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!osu-cis!osupyr!ddc
From: ddc@osupyr.UUCP (Don Comeau)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: New Features:  ++(expr)
Summary: ++(expression) should be OK
Message-ID: <386@osupyr.UUCP>
Date: 8 Feb 88 05:51:52 GMT
Reply-To: ddc@osupyr.UUCP (Don Comeau)
Organization: Mathematical Sciences Computer Lab, Columbus, OH
Lines: 20


Since everyone else is suggesting their addtion to C, here is one I
think would be useful.  Why are ++ and -- still limited to lvalues?  I
think ++expresion should be an expression which has the value
expression+1.

Are there any good reason why this hasn't been done?

Yes, I do know my history.  ++ and -- were originally implemented via
machine instructions which played with memory.  That is fine, but it
doesn't explain why that limitation should be inherent in C itself.

( I guess expression++ could also be legal, but fairly useless! :-)

Flames welcome!  Maybe I'd learn something.

Don Comeau
Dept of Chemistry
Ohio State University
BITNET:  TS3655@OHSTMVSA