Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!rochester!ur-tut!sunybcs!boulder!hao!noao!mcdsun!sunburn!gtx!al
From: al@gtx.com (0732)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: New Features:  ++(expr)
Message-ID: <572@gtx.com>
Date: 11 Feb 88 19:19:17 GMT
References: <386@osupyr.UUCP>
Reply-To: al@gtx.UUCP (Al Filipski 839-0732)
Organization: GTX Corporation, Phoenix
Lines: 29

In article <386@osupyr.UUCP> ddc@osupyr.UUCP (Don Comeau) writes:
>
>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?
>

A better question is "Is there any good reason why this should be done?".
In what situation would ++(a+b) provide any advantage over a+b+1 ?

Generalization may be good if it provides some simplification, but in
this case, neither the compiler writer nor the programmer benefit.

I can't think of any other case in which the semantics of an expression
depend on whether or not the arguments are lvalues.

>
>Flames welcome!  Maybe I'd learn something.
>

Sorry if I wasn't abusive enough.

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