Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Does extern "const" allocate storage? (really noalias)
Message-ID: <1988Mar23.183825.1084@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <7712@apple.Apple.Com> <1988Mar17.175448.521@utzoo.uucp>, <7487@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 88 18:38:25 GMT

> >... nobody really understands the implications well enough
> >to be sure it's being done right...
> 
> The first sentence is erroneous; several people fully understand the
> issue, its implications for the implementation, and its implications
> for the programmer.  (Their evaluations of the desirability of the
> feature vary widely, however.)

The parenthesized addendum there is, um, interesting.  Might one suspect
that the construct is, in fact, *not* well-understood in a more global
sense?  Dissent about whether it's a good idea is hardly a sign of "being
sure it's done right"!

The correct "solution" to this problem at this time is DO NOT ATTEMPT
TO SOLVE IT.
-- 
"Noalias must go.  This is           |  Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
non-negotiable."  --DMR              | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henry