Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!lvc
From: lvc@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Lawrence V. Cipriani)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: volatile isn't necessary, but it's there
Message-ID: <10068@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Date: 7 Apr 88 23:51:56 GMT
References: <7794@alice.UUCP>
Organization: Ohio State Computer & Info Science
Lines: 31
Summary: abs() belongs in <math.h>

In article <7794@alice.UUCP>, dmr@alice.UUCP writes:
	... notes on volatile ...

> Has anyone else noticed that a lot of the more peculiar things that X3J11
> has added (volatile, and especially noalias) are there for the
> benefit of compiler writers and benchmarkers, and not for the user?
> (I know how it happens, though; after all, I invented 'register.')

Yes.  I was shocked when I read that abs() was taken out of <math.h> and
more so when I read the reason.  abs() was removed from <math.h> because
some compilers will create executable images with unused floating point
routines in them <math.h> is included.

Flame on: Of all the stupid things I read in the draft this takes the
cake.  Why don't the vendors fix their stupid compilers and leave the
<math.h> users alone!  Come on!  abs() is a math function and <math.h>
is where it belongs!
Flame off:

Seriously, this is a minor botch but still a botch.  I'm going to
write to complain about this (among other things) in particular
and the "vendor bias" in general.

Future language standardizations should have more representation by
users, and this should be required by ANSI.  We've been had one too
many times.

-- 
Larry Cipriani, AT&T Network Systems and Ohio State University
Domain: lvc@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
Path: ...!cbosgd!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!lvc (weird but right)