Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!cornell!batcomputer!sun.soe.clarkson.edu!cline From: cline@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Marshall Cline) Newsgroups: comp.std.c Subject: Re: ANSI <--> K&R conversion utilities - COMMING SOON Message-ID: Date: 2 Jun 89 21:50:47 GMT References: <10311@socslgw.csl.sony.JUNET> <5472@goofy.megatest.UUCP> Sender: news@sun.soe.clarkson.edu Reply-To: cline@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Marshall Cline) Organization: Clarkson University, Postdam NY Lines: 38 In-reply-to: djones@megatest.UUCP's message of 1 Jun 89 23:37:31 GMT In article <5472@goofy.megatest.UUCP> djones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones) writes: >> In article <229@pink.ACA.MCC.COM> rfg@pink.aca.mcc.com.UUCP (Ron Guilmette) writes: >>>Who wants to go backwards? >It's the implied concept of backwards and forwards is backwards. >Assuming that you like ANSII-C better than C, one wants an (ANSII-C)-to-C >compiler so that one can make the "forward" step to writing in ANSII-C >rather than in C. >There are lots of C compilers around. If we had just one ANSII-C to C >compiler, we would then have lots of ANSII-C-to-machine-code compilers. >I could use an ANSII-C-to-C compiler. >It's the same reason that cfront compiles C++ into C. Actually, I think going "backwards" will be much more important in a few years than it is now (think about it -- that sounds "backwards"). The reason is: Right now we have a higher percentage of K&R code, so most of our conversion will be K&R --> ANSI. In a few years (months? days?), people will be developing good, decent, useful, necessary, exciting things in ANSI-C. When this happens, those of us who still use K&R compilers (which will probably be a lot of us) will have to bring the new code "backwards" to the K&R style. In short, if we don't have an _AUTOMATED_TOOL_ to _EFFECTIVELY_ and _RELIABLY_ convert ANSI to K&R, "for portability's sake" we'll be tempted to write _everything_ in K&R C, short-circuiting the advantages of the Standard. Marshall PS: I still haven't gotten many e-mail responses. Anyone have any great ideas, please send them to me -- I'll post results. -- ________________________________________________________________ Marshall P. Cline ARPA: cline@sun.soe.clarkson.edu ECE Department UseNet: uunet!sun.soe.clarkson.edu!cline Clarkson University BitNet: BH0W@CLUTX Potsdam, NY 13676 AT&T: (315) 268-6591