Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!athena.mit.edu!wesommer
From: wesommer@athena.mit.edu (William Sommerfeld)
Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Subject: Re: distribution of sensitive software like DES
Message-ID: <3157@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Date: 23 Feb 88 02:29:03 GMT
References: <8801281211.AA13780@decwrl.dec.com> <8802162241.AA16997@armagnac.DEC.COM> <2275@geac.UUCP> <4143@sdcc3.ucsd.EDU>
Sender: root@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: wesommer@athena.mit.edu (William Sommerfeld)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lines: 18
Keywords: DES DEC

In article <4143@sdcc3.ucsd.EDU> ps111wei@sdcc3.ucsd.edu.UUCP (Keith Messer)
writes:
[trying to claim that [C] source code is not a computer program because it
isn't directly executable]

Yes, but that is a feature of an _implementation_ of the language, not
of the language itself.  There exist source-code level interpreters
for C.

\begin{salespitch}
Saber Software makes a very good C interpreter (called `saber c');
send mail to kaufer@athena if you want info about it.  It's amazingly
useful for debugging, as it is _really_ source level debugging.  Most
importantly, you can dynamically link in precompiled modules and
libraries.
\end{salespitch}

					- Bill